Not Fade Away
by invalid-reality
Summary: There's more to some things than what meets the eye. When Faith is called in to find a seemingly turned rogue and missing Buffy, she finds herself in the middle of a situation she never saw coming...and neither did anyone else...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: While there are some loose bits of information related to the comics, it does not entirely follow the season 8 timeline as it played out in the comics. Bits and pieces were borrowed to form this story around them.**

* * *

**_Chapter One_**

Faith used the darkness to her own advantage, using the shadows of the large and very old headstones in the cemetery to stay hidden. Crouching low, she watched her prey, two vampires, both male, wandering through the cemetery. She knew why they were there, not because most vampires were always found in a cemetery, but because they had buried an innocent woman behind the Tomas crypt and tonight she would rise as one of them.

Watching and waiting, she saw the two vampires come to a stop, not even near their destination. The one of the right, head shaved bald, turned and looked around, his body language telling her that he could sense they weren't alone.

He turned back to the other vampire and a few words were exchanged between them. Faith shifted, the dry grass under her boots crunching softly. She had to make a move, take the two out before they reached the Tomas crypt and then she would have a newbie vampire to deal with. When the vampires disappeared out of sighed, she moved quickly and quietly, staying to the shadows as she caught up to them, getting herself closer, but still holding back until she found the right opening, the perfect moment to catch them off-guard.

"Shouldn't the girl have risen by now?" The bald vampire asked the other as they paced by the fresh grave behind the Tomas crypt. "I've never turned anyone before, but I rose less than a day after I was buried."

"It's sired," the other replied. "Not turned, sired, you dummy. And give it time. She'll rise."

Faith found her opening as the bald vampire turned his back to her, struggling to light a cigarette against the strong breeze. Using one of her smaller stakes she kept tucked in her jacket, she flung the stake towards the vampire from where she stood, stepping out of the shadows as he turned to dust.

"Callum!" The other vampire yelled out as he watched his companion crumble to dust.

Faith grinned, a swagger in her step as she walked over to the other, much smaller vampire. She grabbed him by the back of his ratty jean jacket before he could make a run for it. Delivering a strong punch to the side of his head, she let him go as he stumbled, dazed from the punch he'd just taken. He spun around, growling and he swiped at Faith, trying to get her, but she moved too fast for him and within seconds she had him in a choke hold.

Faith struggled with the vampire as she tried to get her stake out from inside her jacket pocket, but the position she was in made it difficult and the only way she'd be able to get her stake would be to let the vampire go.

Grunting, she shoved the vampire hard to the ground and pulled out her stake. Not giving him a chance to run, she plunged the stake into his heart and stood slowly, her attention not on the vampire as he turned to dust, but to the sight of the dirt over the fresh grave rising.

Smirk sliding into place, Faith leaned against the Tomas crypt, arms crossed casually over her chest as she watched the new vampire rise from her shallow grave. The new vampire struggled to get to her feet and she looked dazed, confused as she spun around, trying to figure out where she was. When she stopped and looked at Faith, she let out a low growl and lunged towards her.

Fueled by a rush of adrenaline, Faith got a few solid hits to the new vampire and even took a few sloppy ones herself. She rarely let loose on any vampire anymore, it was dangerous and reckless and put her at risk of getting injured or worse, killed. But she needed it, she needed to let loose like she did back in the good old days. A new vampire was strong, but they weren't in complete control of who and what they were, making it more fun for her than if it was just another regular, run of the mill, average every day vampire.

Grabbing the new vampire by her auburn colored hair, Faith pulled hard, forcing the vampire to the ground. Breathing heavily, Faith let go of her hair and held her down with her boot crushing her neck. Pulling out her pack of cigarettes and a box of matches, she bent down and pulled the match over the vampire's forehead, smirking as she rose back up and casually lit her cigarette.

"What was that?" Faith asked as the vampire struggled to speak. She lifted her foot from her throat and grabbed the vampire by her shoulders. "Didn't quite catch that on account of me crushing your windpipe."

"Why don't you just kill me?" The vampire rasped, her hands clutching at Faith's, struggling to get out of her hold. "Please."

Faith grabbed her neck with one hand and pulled the cigarette from between her lips with the other. "Well, this is new. A vamp practically begging for me to kill 'em instead of the other way around."

Using her cigarette, she stabbed the vampire in the eye, the embers burning and sizzling. Pushing the screaming vampire away from her, she grabbed her stake from where it'd fallen to the ground earlier. Not giving the vampire another chance to run or try to fight, she plunged the stake, hard and fast into the new vampire's chest, blowing a kiss as the vampire turned to dust.

She loved slaying, it was a part of her life, her destiny and she was damn good at it. Her skills had improved over the years, new ones learned along the way and some less than ideal habits still lingered. Faith always had a plan, instead of just jumping into the fold. She was cautious about her surroundings at all times, well aware of the vampires near and around her. When it came to more than just one, she always struck down one before making herself visible to the other. When it came to more than two, she normally had a team with her, but tonight had been different.

In the two years since the Battle at the Hellmouth in Sunnydale, Faith had come a long way, changed in ways that left her former self in the past. While she wasn't a part of any of the squads, she was a part of the Slayer Organization, and most of her time was spent working with Giles to find and help rehabilitate young troubled slayers, sometimes taking the task on themselves, sometimes sending them to Scotland, the command center, lead by none other than Buffy Summers.

While Faith didn't have a permanent home and she wasn't a part of any specific squad, she had her place, her purpose within the organization itself. There were things she had done over the last two years she wasn't proud of, things that included having to kill some of the young slayers Giles sent her to find because they posed a threat to themselves, to Faith, and to the world itself. There had only been four of them, but the guilt she harbored would always be there.

Over the years, Faith would return to Cleveland with Giles every couple of months. She had been all over the world, to every major city and small towns that appeared on the map, looking for those young slayers that fled as soon as they knew they were being sought out. What Willow and the rest of those who worked directly under Buffy's command couldn't do for those girls, it was left up to her. And she very rarely failed when it came to finding these girls and forcing them to get the help they so desperately needed.

She'd been in Cleveland for barely a day and just twenty hours ago she'd been tracking down a young slayer in Miami. It was one of her most difficult captures and it had been nothing but a struggle with the girl, Karyn, to get her on a plane and fly her back to Cleveland. She had ignored Giles when he told her to stay in, the urge to get out and slay too much to contain. Besides, Faith knew that this girl was in good hands with Wood. Before she left the house, she'd already calmed down and stopped trying to lash out at everyone who so much as just looked at her.

Lighting another cigarette, she headed down the gravel path towards the cemetery gates, very much aware of her surroundings even in the darkness that surrounded her. She let out a loud sigh as she reached the dimly lit street and found her motorcycle tires had been slashed.

"Well that's just fucking perfect," Faith muttered and she knelt near the back tire to examine the damage. Like the front tire, it was a clean cut, one made quickly with an extremely sharp blade.

Leaving the bike where it was, she started the four block walk to the apartment she and Giles stayed at whenever they were in Cleveland. The apartment was the only place-other than the farm and the flat in England-that felt almost like home to her. At least she had a bed of her own, a room to call her own, and it was something she had never had in her entire life until Giles made that possible for her.

Giles placed his trust in her and they had formed a bond over the years. It hadn't taken long for her to look at him like the father she never had, a friend and a mentor all wrapped up in one Giles-sized package. There was nothing she couldn't talk to him about and it was during those long trips from city A to city B they'd talk for hours, each time learning something new and different about one another that proved they were a lot more alike than either had ever thought they were. Faith was grateful for Giles, for him taking her in under his wing after Sunnydale, for him placing his trust in her when nobody else was willing. She was grateful for all the things he'd done for her, and even the things she had to do to eliminate those four girls that had been a threat.

Faith walked up the three flights of stairs to their floor and unlocked the door to the apartment quietly. She wasn't even remotely surprised to find Giles had waited up for her and he was in the kitchen, the small TV on the counter turned on to the late night news and a cup of tea in front of him on the table.

"How was patrol?" Giles asked, not even taking his eyes off the TV.

"Eliminated the two vampires that kidnapped that girl."

"And the girl?"

"Dusted."

"She was a vampire?" Giles asked and Faith nodded her head. "New?"

"Yeah, but not anymore. Got her fresh out of the grave," Faith replied, deciding it was probably best she left out some of the grotesque details of the slay.

"While you were out, I received a rather interesting phone call," Giles said and Faith sat down at the table across from him. "It seems that things have been out of sorts in Scotland."

"How do you mean? Thought Buffy had things under control?"

"It appears that Buffy has become a problem. A liability. One that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible."

"What's that have to do with us?"

Giles sighed and took a sip of his tea. Faith could see the worry and the concern in his eyes as he stared at her. Whatever was happening in Scotland and with Buffy was more than just a small problem. If it was a small problem, it would've already been taken care of, that much she knew.

"Buffy has been missing," he said after a long pause, his voice soft yet broken. "Nobody has been in contact with her for weeks. I have been informed of some troubling information regarding Buffy."

"What? Did she go off the rails and turn rogue or something?"

"In short, yes."

Faith couldn't help but laugh. "That's rich. Gotta be a joke or something, right? Buffy turned rogue?"

"I wish that were the case," Giles replied sadly. "But after a series of incidents that resulted in the death of several young slayers, unfortunate accidents really, she began to neglect her role as a leader and began to ignore her responsibilities. The others, they tried to reach out to her and she snapped."

"And then she ran."

"Willow informed me that even with a locator spell, she hasn't been able to find her anywhere. She believes that Buffy had sought out a witch to cast a spell that would cloak her presence. Either that is the case, or something has happened to her."

"Again, what's that got to do with us?"

"You've become an excellent tracker, one of the very best, and I agreed with Willow when she said that you would be the only one who would be able to find her and bring her back home."

Faith leaned back in the chair and thought about it. Tracking Buffy would be difficult, but she knew she'd find her sooner or later. Bringing Buffy back to Scotland would be harder than rounding up a young, out of control slayer who was on the run. It wouldn't just be hard, it'd be downright almost impossible.

"How long has she been gone for?"

"Just a few days short of a month," Giles replied. "I've already booked us a flight. We leave at ten tomorrow morning."

"Willow tell you anything else?" Faith asked and he shook his head. "It's gotta be more than her just not being able to handle losing a couple of girls, Giles."

"I'm not certain of the entire story behind this situation, but Willow promised to catch us up once we join them in Scotland. I suggest you get some rest before our flight in the morning, Faith. This is a fairly big job you have ahead of you, that is, if you're willing to take this on and find her at no matter what the cost."

"I'm in," Faith replied and she stood up from the chair. "But there's just one thing I gotta do before we leave. You know a number for a tow company around here?"

"Dare I ask why?"

"Some asshole slashed the tires on my bike. Left it parked outside Woodland Cemetery. Don't wanna just leave it there, you know?"

"I'll see that it is taken care of. Get some rest, Faith."

* * *

Faith stared out the plane window, watching as the plane flew over an empty ocean, the sky a cloudless day. They'd been on the plane for five hours and it had given her more than enough time to think up a plan for when she was in Scotland. Like many of the girls she had tracked, she had to start where Buffy was seen last, hopefully picking up on a trail sooner rather than later.

This was no different than the other girls she had tracked down, some she even followed for months before she caught up to them. But this was Buffy and she probably had a few tricks up her sleeves and would be able to keep herself hidden and lost for as long as she wanted to. If she was the only one who could find Buffy, then she was going to do the job she was asked to do, no questions asked.

"We'll be landing in a few hours," Giles said as he returned to his seat next to her on the small, private jet. "Have you gotten any rest since we left?"

"No, just coming up with a game plan."

"I see. Where are your notes?"

Faith laughed and tapped the side of her head. "Don't need notes. When we hear the whole story from Willow, I'll share my plan and you guys can write it all down, how about that?"

"Care to share what you have so far?"

"Gonna go in to this like it's any other girl on the run. Already know it's not gonna be easy cos it's Buffy we're talking about here," she replied and she sighed heavily. "She's got a few weeks head start on us. It's gonna take some digging to get the information I need to pinpoint a location. There's one thing I have in my favor though, Giles. I've been around the world how many times and what, Buffy's been to Italy and Scotland? Already got a one-up on her on that end."

"It may work in your favor, yes, but there are factors to keep in mind, Faith. If Buffy does not want to be found, she will make sure that it stays that way at all costs."

"She's bound to slip up at one point or another and when she does? I'll be ready and waiting for her."

Giles nodded and picked up the small glass he'd poured some Scotch Whisky in hours before and had been nursing it slowly. He swirled the amber liquid in the glass, watching it as it sloshed around. Sighing, he lifted the glass to his lips and finished off what was left.

"This is a good thing you're doing here, Faith."

"It's my job, ain't it?"

"But this is Buffy, not a young slayer on the run," Giles said as if she had forgotten it was Buffy they were talking about. "I fully expected you to back down, tell me to relay the message on that they were on their own in finding her. Of course, not in such a polite manner, but you do understand what I'm getting at."

"Yeah well, things change," Faith shrugged. "But it's Buffy and I'm taking the chance that maybe her being on the run ain't entirely her choice."

"Do you believe someone has taken her?"

"It's a whole world of possibility that anything could be behind this, Giles. I haven't forgotten how strong Buffy is and a couple of deaths and she flips a switch and runs? No, she wouldn't do that. Girls died back in Sunnydale and she kept going on, barely missing a beat. Kind of refuse to believe she went all rogue cos she lost a couple of girls."

"I believe we should just recoil on the conclusions until we hear Willow's details in regards to the story behind this."

Faith sat back in her seat and turned her attention back out the window. Giles was right about one thing. They couldn't jump to any conclusions until they heard Willow's side of the story.

Whatever the reason Buffy had bailed and was on the run, in hiding from the people who cared about her the most, Faith would find her and bring her back, no matter what it took, no matter what the cost.

* * *

Following Giles up to the main gates of the castle, Faith felt in awe of the sheer size of the place. She'd been there only once before, fourteen months ago and that was a quick stop-over to drop off two girls she and Giles spent weeks working with. Buffy hadn't been there at the time and the only one there that she knew that was there at the time had been Kennedy.

"Keep forgetting how huge this place is," Faith muttered under her breath and she stood by Giles side as he knocked loudly on the large wooden door. "We're not gonna get attacked by a bunch of young slayers playing guard the castle, are we?"

"They're expecting us."

"Right."

Shifting her duffel bag in her hand and placing the strap over her shoulder, she waited patiently for the door to open. Night had already fallen long before their plane landed and the drive from the local airport to the castle had been a long one, the driver slow and a little bit too cautious of the winding, hilly roads.

The left side of the large double wooden doors swung open and Faith was nearly cast aside as Dawn ran out to hug Giles tight. Stepping off to the side to give the two a moment, she looked inside the castle door entrance and saw Xander headed straight for them.

"You made it," he said, his voice soft and tired. "Willow is waiting in the conference room. She sent me down to retrieve you."

"Right down to business," Faith said, smirking as she followed him inside. "Is that how you guys operate here these days?"

"Most days, yes," he replied with a nod, not looking back at her.

"We should've called you sooner," Dawn said to Giles as they walked closely behind Faith. "We kept thinking she'd come home, that she'd at least call, but the days turned into weeks and we didn't know what else to do."

"It's all right, Dawn. We'll help in any way that we can and I can assure you that Buffy will come home safe."

Faith fought the urge to scoff. If Buffy was out there on her own, by her own choice, getting her to come back home would take more than just convincing her. It could take violence, potentially even knocking her out just to get her back there. If she'd been kidnapped, she could be in bad shape and getting her out of the clutches of whoever had her would mean putting both their lives at risk just to save her.

Xander led the way to a set of elevators, the left one opening as he slid a key card into the slot. Faith followed him on and Giles was right behind her with Dawn. As the doors slid shut, Faith shifted her bag to her other shoulder, trying hard not to feel the awkward tension in the tight space between the four of them.

After a short elevator ride, the doors slid open and led straight into what Faith recognized as the conference room. The only difference since the last time she'd been there, there hadn't been an elevator and it was seven flights of stairs to get up there. Willow sat at the long oval table, a mountain of papers laid out in front of her and Kennedy sitting at her side.

Faith hung back, watching the slightly awkward reunion between Giles, Willow, Dawn and Xander unfolded. She tossed her bag near the door where Giles had put his down and she walked around the large room, examining the rare weapons that were hung on the walls, displayed as if they were art and not weapons she'd definitely put to better use killing things that went bump in the night with.

"When did she go missing?" Faith asked, interrupting the little catch-up session the three were having. "Do you know when she left?"

"Uh yeah," Willow nodded, taking her seat again and pulling out a piece of lined paper. "August 2nd, approximately just after eight. She was supposed to take a team of girls on patrol and never showed up."

"And before that? Who saw her last?" Faith asked, taking a seat near Willow. She grew quiet and Faith looked around the room, the only one not looking strange was Giles, who was just as curious as she was. "Come on, Willow, who saw her last?"

"Satsu. She's one of our best slayers we have here," Willow replied after a pause. "They had an argument from what Satsu said when I questioned her a few days after Buffy's disappearance."

"What kind of argument?"

"Uh, she wouldn't say," Willow said quickly and Faith rolled her eyes.

"That's bullshit, Willow. You want me to find her? You're gonna have to give me all the details. Every little bit helps."

"What does it matter what happened before she disappeared?" Dawn asked her, arms crossed over her chest as she stood at Xander's side. "You are only here to help us find her and bring her home, nothing else."

"How else do ya expect me to find her?" Faith asked, cocking her head to the side as Dawn looked at Xander as if she expected him to step in and stand up for her. "Look, the more I know, the easier it's gonna be for me to pick up on a trail that'll lead me to her. You want to find her? You want her back home? Then I'm gonna need every bit of detail you can give me to go on."

"We don't know exactly what's going on between them, but we think that maybe Satsu has a thing for Buffy," Willow replied, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks. "They had a disagreement over the role that Satsu has here."

"A _thing_?" Faith laughed. "What, is the girl in love with her or something?"

"It's no secret that she is," Dawn said and she shook her head when Xander nudged her. "What? It's not! Satsu practically followed Buffy around like a little puppy, making with the moon eyes and the dreamy smiles every time Buffy so much just looked at her."

"This girl a threat?" Faith asked, trying to stay on point, not at all interested in whoever was fawning over Buffy this time. "Guys, is she a threat?"

"No," Willow replied. "She's not. She's been distraught and worried ever since Buffy went missing."

"Let me guess, wandering around like a lost puppy looking for its master?" Faith chuckled and she shut up when Giles glared at her from across the table. "Okay, Sushi isn't a threat, but she is the last one who saw her. Anything else I oughta know about what happened before Buffy played the disappearing act?"

"There were a couple of girls who didn't make it," Willow said sadly. "Routine patrol, an in and out operation with a nest of vampires a few towns over. Buffy blamed herself for bringing them and putting them in harms way, but it didn't matter how much we tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault. Those girls were ready, they'd been ready for a long time. They slipped up, made a mistake and they ended up dead."

"She wouldn't run because of that," Dawn cut in. "I know her. She wouldn't run because she felt guilty and that it was her fault those girls ended up dead."

"Okay, so," Faith said and she cracked her knuckles as she looked around the room. "The day she disappeared? Anything unusual happen?"

"No. It was just like any other day," Willow replied. "That's just what we can't figure out. What made her leave. Was it her choice or did something or someone take her?"

"Where can I find Sushi?" Faith asked and she rose to her feet. "The sooner I talk to her, the sooner I can start finding a trail."

"We've already-"

"Are you a tracker?" Faith asked Dawn, cutting her off before she could finish speaking. When Dawn shook her head no, Faith raised an eyebrow. "See, I am and I've found a lot of girls not even Willow here could find using magic. The thing about people? Whether they want to be found or not, there's always a trail they leave behind for someone like me to pick up on it sooner or later. Let me ask you again, where can I find this Sush-"

"Satsu," a quiet voice came from the doorway. Faith turned to see a small Asian girl standing there. "My name is Satsu, not Sushi."

"Satsu," Faith tried the name out, hating the way it rolled off her tongue. She stared at the younger girl, noticing she wasn't quite as young as the other slayers, likely closer to Kennedy's age. "Let's make this quick and save me the details I don't care about."

"Do you think you'll be able to find her?"

"Wasting time here, Sushi, just like you people have already wasted enough as it is."

"My name is Sat-"

"Enough!" Willow yelled out and Faith stood down, trying to remain calm.

"Well?" Faith asked, staring hard at Satsu who stood cowering by the door.

"We had a little argument and she left. I went to her room and she'd packed a bag and I thought maybe she just needed more space and moved to a more isolated part of the castle," Satsu replied quietly, sounding nervous as Faith's stare burned into her. "I went looking for her, but then the alarm went off for patrol and I had to go meet up with the team."

"So the last place you saw her was where exactly?"

"Outside my room."

"Damn, we got nothing to go with here," Faith said as she looked over at Giles. "We're gonna have to dig a little deeper."

"Indeed," Giles nodded. "You are all positive she's not hiding in the castle somewhere, are you?"

"We've searched the place a hundred times," Willow replied. "We had all the girls look everywhere for almost a week, thinking maybe she was using the maze of hallways and rooms to slip past us. She's not here. It's been confirmed already that she is not here or anywhere on the grounds."

Faith started pacing, trying to think that if she was in Buffy's shoes, where would she run to. But it proved to be impossible because her and Buffy were cut from a different cloth and they thought and acted differently in similar situations.

"You guys ever go anywhere in town for fun? You know, live it up a little, let your hair down, dance, get your drink on?" Faith asked, the question directed to everyone that was in the room. "Come on, don't tell me you people never have some fun and cut loose every once in a while."

"There's a place," Kennedy said when nobody else stepped forward. "Quinn's Pub. We've gone a few times. I'll take you there tomorrow. It's too late to go now, Quinn would've closed the place by now."

"How early are we talking?"

"He serves breakfast," Kennedy replied. "So, early."

"Kenny, can you show them to the guest quarters?" Willow asked quietly while the others started to leave the conference room.

"Of course," Kennedy replied with a smile and she turned to Faith. "Come on, looks like I'm on involuntary butler duty."

With a laugh, Faith grabbed her bag and followed Kennedy out into the corridor. Giles followed close behind and the three never spoke the long walk through the castle to the guest quarters, which was just a small suite with a bedroom and a pull-out couch in the main room. Faith remembered the room, having stayed in there just once before during that quick stop-over, using the couch for a quick nap while they waited a few hours before they had to fly out again.

"Giles, you take the bed," Faith said as she tossed her bag on the couch.

"If you insist," Giles replied with a sigh of relief. "Goodnight, Faith. Kennedy."

Faith sat on the couch and pulled off her boots, finally feeling the fatigue hitting her like a Mack truck. Kennedy lingered by the doorway, running a finger over the empty desk near her, collecting up the fine layer of dust that coated everything in the room.

"We don't really use this room," Kennedy said absentmindedly. "I guess nobody thought to get a team of girls in here to clean before you guys arrived."

"Been in worse. Little bit of dust won't kill me."

"Things haven't been the same around here," Kennedy said and she glanced out into the corridor before stepping in the room and shutting the door behind her. "With Buffy gone, it's been hard to keep things together and keep the morale up with the girls. We've been trying, really trying, but it's getting harder every day."

"You need your leader back," Faith stated. "That's where I come in. I'll find her, Kennedy, and whether she wants to or not, she's coming back home."

"Preferably in one piece."

"Let's hope."

Kennedy smirked and reached for the door. "Get some sleep, we're headed out first thing. I'm hoping to get to talk to Quinn before he opens in the morning. He'll likely talk without any customers around."

"Got it. Later, Kennedy."

Faith waited for a few minutes after Kennedy left before she got up and locked the door. She started thinking as she paced the floor by the couch, thinking of where the hell Buffy had taken off to. She could literally be anywhere in the world, hiding herself from the people who cared and loved her the most. Or, the worst case scenario, she'd been kidnapped and being held against her will by someone or something powerful enough to keep a slayer locked up and hidden from the rest of the world.

Something felt very off to her about the whole situation. She wasn't sure what it was, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she just had a feeling that something was very, very off.

Whatever it was, she'd figure it out and she hoped it'd be sooner rather than later. The quicker she found Buffy, the sooner she'd go back to her own life.

And it couldn't happen fast enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two_**

Faith slammed the middle-aged man against the door for the second time. She'd had enough of his bullshit and lies.

"Again, I'm gonna ask you, when is the last time you saw her?"

"She'll kill me if I say anything."

"Come on, Quinn, spill it or I'll do a whole lot worse to you than she ever could."

"I doubt that," Quinn muttered under his breath, gasping as Faith moved to slam him against the door again. "Look, I ain't seen her in a while and that's the truth!"

"How long is a while?"

"At least two-three weeks."

"Was she with anyone?" Faith questioned him, casting a quick glance over at Kennedy who had done nothing but stay out of her way when they caught Quinn opening the pub almost half an hour before. "Was she with anyone?" Faith repeated, her hands gripping the man's shoulders tight.

"No, I don't know! She wasn't here for long, but to tell you the truth, I barely recognized her when she came in to pay me off, to keep me from telling any of you people anything."

"Different? How?"

"Darker hair. Dressed differently than I've ever seen her. Said she was going away, a little holiday of sorts and that she'd kill me if I told any of her friends where she was going."

Faith glared at Quinn, trying to read him, but the man was terrified and not just of her. She could see it in the way his beady little eyes kept darting around that he was afraid of Buffy finding out he talked.

"So you know where she was headed?" Faith asked and he shuddered under her grip, his body language telling her that he did know. "Come on, buddy, don't make me hurt you, cos I will if I have to. Where did she go?"

"What's the difference? Girl wanted a holiday, some time alone and-"

"Her friends? Her family? They're worried about her. Brought me in to find her, make sure she's safe and what not. Now," Faith said, holding him against the door with one hand as she reached for the knife sheathed to her belt. "Where'd she go?"

"Faith-"

"Shut up, Kennedy!" Faith snapped as she raised the knife, the blade flickering in the lights from above. "Come on, I doubt she paid you enough to lay down your life for her. Bet you barely know her, right? Whatever she paid you isn't worth your life, Quinn."

Faith moved the knife to his cheek, pressing the sharp blade against his stubbly skin just hard enough for him to feel it. She was breathing steadily, trying to keep calm. There'd been situations like this in the past few years where she'd almost lost control and slipped back into the darkness that had once consumed her.

"She wasn't alone," Quinn whispered. "There was another with her, a woman. I didn't see her face. They were talking before she came to see me, talking about heading off to Italy, Rome to be precise."

"So she wasn't alone?" Faith asked, her voice even and steady as she kept the knife where it was on his cheek. "You told me she was alone not even five minutes ago. What else you been lying about, buddy?"

Quinn shivered as she trailed the tip of the knife down his cheek and slowly across his jaw and down to his throat. Faith could see the small beads of sweat breaking out over his forehead, his eyes glassing over as the fear overtook him.

"Guess she did pay you enough to lay your life on the line for her," Faith said and she pulled the knife back and raised it, ready to strike.

"Faith!" Kennedy yelled out as she sliced the small knife through the air and barely missed the middle-aged man's head as the blade stuck in the wood of the door behind him. "Jesus, you almost killed him!"

Ignoring Kennedy, she pulled the knife out of the door and made sure that Quinn was looking right at it. "Next time, I'm not going to miss. This time, I want nothing but the truth out of that lying mouth of yours."

"The girl she was with, she wasn't someone I recognized and I've seen most of your types around, slayers and what not. Thought she was just another normal human being, caught up in the ride that Buffy was headed on, but after I was paid not to talk, they both disappeared into thin air. I-I think the other girl was a witch, a powerful one at that."

"A witch?"

"Yeah, she had to have been right? Unless you slayers have magical powers as well then-"

"You know who this witch could be?" Faith asked Kennedy and she shrugged and pulled out her cell, indicating she was going to find out as much as she could. "Anything else, Quinn?"

"Tapes!" He gasped. "I have tapes, security footage."

"This place has security cameras?" Faith asked and she looked around the dank, dirty pub. "Are you for real?"

"Insurance reasons. Couldn't get-"

"I don't care," Faith cut him off. "These tapes? Where are they?"

"In my office," he said quietly. "You can take them! Just please, don't hurt me!"

Faith shoved him away from the door and kicked the locked doorknob off, the door swinging open loudly as she did. She walked into the small, dark office and fumbled around for a light switch. Finding the only light in the small room was a lamp on a small, cluttered desk, she flipped it on and looked around the room.

"Where are they?"

"In the closet," Quinn said as he hobbled into the office, his hands rubbing his neck and cheek where Faith had pressed her knife in her attempt to get him to talk. "The equipment and the tapes are in the closet."

"Jesus," she said under her breath when she saw the high-end security equipment neatly set up in a closet that was easily the same size as the office. Two walls were lined with shelves filled with tapes, each labelled by day, each section a different month. After a quick search, she found all the tapes from August up until last night.

"Wow," Kennedy said as she lingered in the doorway, one hand firmly holding on to Quinn's arm to make sure he didn't try to take off. "For a place like this, you sure got some high-end tech in here, Quinn."

"Insurance re-"

"We're taking these," Faith said, motioning to the shelf of tapes they needed. "We're gonna need something to carry 'em."

Grabbing on to Quinn, she motioned for Kennedy to go and find them something-anything they could use to carry the tapes back to the castle. She pulled him into the room with her and she walked over to the equipment. Looking over the screen, it looked like he had camera's everywhere, even in that room, recording every second of every day.

"Destroy it," Quinn muttered under his breath. "If she knows you were here, she'll kill me."

"Buffy won't kill you."

"She's not who you think she is. Not anymore."

Faith rolled her eyes and pulled the tape out of the recorder. She tossed it to the floor and destroyed it, crushing it hard once with her heavy boot. "You got it all wrong, Quinn. Buffy won't kill you. Buffy doesn't kill humans. That one falls on my lengthly resumé."

"Found a box," Kennedy said as she rushed back into the room carrying a box just big enough to carry the tapes they needed.

"Load it up, I'm gonna deal with our friend here."

"Faith-"

"I'm not gonna kill him so just chill, Kennedy."

Pulling Quinn out of the room and back into the office, she forced him down on the wooden office chair. Pacing, she sheathed her knife back into her belt and started poking around his cluttered office. Not finding anything of interest, she shoved the piles of papers off the desk and sat down. Every time Quinn moved, she shook her head and pulled back her jacket to reveal the knife sheathed to her belt. She didn't want to have to use it again, but would if he so much as made the wrong move.

"Let's go," Kennedy said as she came out of the closet with the box full of security tapes. "Faith? Let's go. Now."

"We were never here," Faith said to Quinn who quickly nodded his head in agreement. "These tapes? You don't know where they disappeared to if anyone asks. Make something up. You were robbed or something."

"I'd be better off to torch the place and disappear myself."

"You do whatever you need to do, buddy," Faith said and she followed Kennedy out of the office.

"Overly dramatic much?" Kennedy asked as they walked out the back door and over to the black SUV parked in the alleyway. "You almost killed him, Faith!"

"Almost? Not quite," Faith chuckled as she opened the back door. "I was aiming for scaring the truth out of him. Worked, didn't it?"

"You're crazy."

"Tell me something I don't already know."

* * *

Faith stood to the side of the monitor, watching with everyone else as Andrew ran through the security footage. They'd been going over them for hours on an end, making note of every time they'd seen Buffy on the monitor, the time stamp that showed up, if she was alone or with someone. The last time they saw her was on August 7th, five days after her initial disappearance and she definitely wasn't alone, she was with someone nobody in the room recognized.

"So, we know she was still in the area for a handful of days after she left here," Willow said and she rubbed her eyes. "This doesn't make any sense! Why wouldn't she come back home?"

"Who is that girl?" Xander said and he nudged Andrew to stop on a clearer view of Buffy's companion. "She doesn't even look familiar."

"Maybe it's someone she met after she disappeared?" Dawn suggested with a shrug. "Nobody knows who she is. Is she even human? What if she cast some kind of spell on Buffy? I mean, the days after her disappearance, every time she's shown up on camera she's been acting different. Different as in so not herself in any way!"

"Dawn, calm down," Xander said gently. "Let's not jump to any conclusions now."

"Yo, Andrew, print that up," Faith said quickly before he resumed the tape.

"What for?"

"I'm gonna head back to town and ask some questions about this girl, see if anyone knows who she is," Faith replied and with a few clicks, Andrew had the image printed off. She grabbed it out of the printer tray and folded it carefully. "If you guys find anything else, you know how to get in touch."

"Are you going alone?" Giles asked as he followed Faith to the control room entrance. "Are you sure that is wise?"

"I'm a big girl, G. You know that I can handle myself. Besides, I'm just doing some recon, asking around about the girl," she replied. "Like I said, you find anything else, get in touch and I'll do the same."

Faith left the control room and headed down the corridor, hoping that this time she wouldn't get lost and end up on the other end of the castle like she did after her and Kennedy had gotten back with the security tapes.

It didn't take her long to get to the guest suite and after grabbing a few weapons as a precautionary measure and concealing them under her jacket, her favorite knife sheathed inside her boot instead of her belt, she headed out, moving quickly to the front entrance of the castle. She wanted to go in to town alone, especially after the way that Kennedy reacted to her unorthodox interrogating measures with Quinn.

"You're going to need a ride," Kennedy said as Faith approached the front doors. Rolling her eyes she turned to look at Kennedy behind her. "I know you want to do this on your own, but-"

"You stay in the car," Faith replied, in no mood to argue with her or anyone else at the moment. "Giles put you up to this?"

"I put me up to this."

The ride into town didn't take very long, but the silence was heavy and the radio stayed off. Kennedy drove to one of the busier streets in the town where majority of the shops were located. After finding a spot to park, Faith got out of the SUV and started to walk down the busy road that was littered with hundreds of people.

Deciding to start at the first shop on the right, she entered and found herself in a small tourist trap, the shop filled with odd little trinkets and souvenirs. She was the only one in the shop and she turned to look at the doorway. Kennedy was out on the street waiting for her, having not stayed in the SUV as Faith had asked her to.

"Excuse me?" Faith called out to the old lady behind the ancient looking cash register.

"Do you need any help, dear?"

"I'm looking for someone," she replied and she pulled the printed picture out of her pocket. "I'm wondering if you've seen this woman around here before or if you happen to know anything about her?"

Taking the picture from Faith, the old woman pulled out a part of glasses from the pocket of her flowered vest and slipped them on. After staring at the picture for a few moments, she handed it back to Faith with a shake of her head.

"I'm sorry, dear, I don't recognize that girl, but the other one, I've seen her around before," the woman said. "The blonde girl," she clarified. "It's been a little while, but she was always around these parts, shopping with her friends. Lovely girl."

"Thanks, ma'am."

Exiting the shop, Faith breezed past Kennedy and headed for the small café next door. Every place she went brought up the same answers and nobody in town seemed to know or even recognize the girl. After a few hours, the sun started to dip below the horizon and Faith met up with Kennedy back at the SUV, feeling defeated and at a complete loss of what to do next.

The girl that Buffy had last been seen in Scotland with was their only lead and if they couldn't find her or anyone that knew her, their only lead would be a dead end and they'd be right back where they were before Faith showed up to help them find Buffy.

"What are we going to do now?" Kennedy asked her.

"I'm not sure," Faith replied and she pulled her pack of cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and quickly lit one. "I don't wanna say this was a bust, but we've got jack shit."

"Maybe we didn't ask the right people?"

"What, you wanna start knocking on doors?" Faith asked, scoffing when Kennedy shrugged. "Bad idea. Approaching people in public places is okay, knocking on doors and invading their person space is gonna have the cops coming after us with questions we're not answering."

"Excuse me?"

Faith spun around at the sound of a gentle, light voice from behind her. A small girl emerged from the narrow alleyway and pulled the hood off slowly as she approached Faith and Kennedy.

"You've been looking for my sister?" The girl asked. She couldn't have been more than eleven years old, if that. "Someone said you've been looking for Kate."

"Is this your sister?" Faith asked, handing the girl the picture. She nodded quickly and handed it back to Faith. "Do you know where I can find her?"

"Why?"

"A friend is missing and your sister was with her when she disappeared," Faith replied calmly. "We're just looking for a friend and if your sister knows where she is, I'd like to talk to her."

"You can't."

"Why's that?"

"She's not here."

Faith groaned in frustration and took a step closer to the girl. "Do you know where she is?"

The girl shrugged, but everything about her body language, the way her eyes purposely avoided looking right at Faith told her that this girl definitely knew where her sister was and she was withholding information. Why she was is something Faith couldn't figure out and unlike Quinn, she couldn't threaten a kid to get the information she needed.

"Come on, kid," Faith said gently. "If you know where we can find your sister, we'd appreciate it. We just want to know where to find our friend."

"She's going to be mad at me."

"Why?"

"Come with me," the girl said, motioning for Faith and Kennedy to follow her as she turned and headed back towards the alleyway she'd come out of.

"Come on," Faith said to Kennedy as she started to follow the girl. "Kennedy, what are you standing around for?"

"You sure this is a good idea, Faith?"

"What? You think something bad is gonna happen? You think this kid is gonna lead us into some kind of a trap?" Faith asked and she laughed at the perplexed look on Kennedy's face. "Whatever, stay here then."

Faith caught up with the girl in the narrow alleyway and she walked a few steps behind her, all her senses on high alert just in case this girl _was_ leading her into some kind of a trap. Anything was possible, that was something Faith had learned well over the years and that meant having this girl show up right as they were about to give up on finding a lead on Buffy was more than just a coincidence.

The girl lead Faith to a red door that was unlocked and she held it open for Faith, motioning for her to step inside. It was dimly lit and ahead was a staircase, nothing more, and a single door at the top with multiple locks. Letting the girl lead the way, Faith stayed close, ready to grab any of her concealed weapons at a seconds notice.

"She's going to be really mad," the girl whispered.

"Why?"

"Because I promised I'd keep her secret."

"What secret?"

"Jessie, what the hell?"

Faith looked up at the door at the top of the stairs as it was flung open and the same girl that had last been with Buffy was standing there.

"She was asking about you, Kate!"

"I don't care if the goddamn coppers were asking about me, you know better than to bring anyone here, especially one of _them_!"

"Excuse me?" Faith said and she walked the rest of the way up the stairs and stood face to face with Kate. "One of _them_? What the hell does that mean?"

"Slayers," Kate replied, spitting the word out like venom. "You're the other one, one of the Originals. Faith."

"This is Faith?" Jessie asked, eyes wide. "I had no idea."

"Go inside," Kate said as she grabbed her little sister by the arm and pulled her towards the door. "Go, now."

"Don't be so harsh on her, she's just a kid," Faith said calmly. "So, you're the girl in question."

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked as she headed inside with Faith close on her heels. "Why are you even looking for me?"

"You're the last one seen with a friend of mine, well, she's not exactly a friend, more so like an acquaintance. Pretty sure you're aware she's missing."

"You're talking about Buffy Summers, aren't you?" Kate asked with a smirk and she sat down on a worn old couch in the small living room. "She's not missing."

"Well, whatever she is, her friends are looking for her and they're pretty damn worried about her."

"She can handle herself. Besides, it was her choice. If they were really her friends, they'd respect the choice that she made and leave her alone."

"Look, Kate," Faith said as she grabbed the woman by the front of her shirt and pulled her to her feet. "All I know is you were with her the last time anyone saw her around here. If you know where she is-"

"Don't threaten me."

"Fuck you."

Faith gasped as she was hit by a powerful stream of light. Magic. It sent her flying backwards towards the door. Scrambling to get to her feet, she walked right back up to Kate and stared her down.

"You're a witch."

"Aren't you a smart one," Kate laughed. "Yes, I am. So, you see? Your petty threats mean nothing to me."

"I just came looking for information," Faith said as she took a few steps back from her, deciding to change her tactics to something less violent. "Do you know where she is?"

"Why would I tell you anything?"

"Because I know of a witch who can strip you of every ounce of your power before you can even blink," Kennedy said from the doorway where she stood with Willow at her side.

"What the hell?" Faith muttered under her breath.

"So," Willow said as she strolled into the room and looked around. "Here I thought I knew of every witch in the country, and here is one right under our noses, completely undetected. However did you do it?"

"A spell to keep myself, as you can say, under the radar from people like _you_," Kate replied. "I'm not afraid of you, Willow Rosenberg."

Willow smirked and with a wave of her hand, she had Kate bound with a magical blue rope. "You should be. Binding you is not the worst that I can do. You have the answers we're looking for, so why don't you play nice and tell us what we need to know."

Faith chuckled, a little bit amazed at the way Willow was acting. She'd never seen this side of her before and yet, from the way Kennedy didn't look surprised, this was something that wasn't new. This was just who Willow was now, fierce and powerful when she needed to be.

"I'm not telling you-"

"Can I hit her?" Faith asked, looking back at Willow and Kennedy.

"I don't see why not?" Kennedy replied, smirking as Kate struggled to move.

"No, please don't hit me!" Kate yelled as Faith strolled right up to her, fist held up and ready to strike. "Please!"

"Wil?" Kennedy said and with another wave of her hand, Willow removed the bound from Kate and she fell to the floor. "Now come on, Kate, play nice and tell us what we came here for."

"She found me," Kate said quietly. "Buffy came looking for me about a month ago, asked me for a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Faith asked her.

"A cloaking spell," Kate replied. "She wanted out and she knew you'd all come looking for her. She said it'd be impossible for her just to disappear because of you, Willow. She knew you'd use a locator spell to track her down as soon as she turned up missing. So, I did the spell for her and promised if any of you put the pieces together and found me, that I wouldn't tell you anything. She's going to kill me."

"Buffy wouldn't-"

"That's where you're wrong, Willow," Kate laughed bitterly. "She will kill me. The Buffy you knew and loved? She's not that Buffy anymore."

Faith was intrigued. Kate was the second person to have said that and at first she hadn't believed Quinn, but now that a second person had clarified it, she knew there was something more to Buffy just disappearing. Something so much more than she could figure out just yet.

"So, you did her this favor, cast the spell and for what? What did you get in return for such a huge favor?" Faith asked her.

"She didn't kill me," Kate whispered, her voice quivering slightly. "She would've killed me. She almost did, but as soon as I did the spell, she changed. She was a completely different person. We even went out for a drink at Quinn's pub and then she told me to keep a low profile for a while and she left."

"Where did she go?" Faith asked and when Kate shrugged, she grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her. "Gonna ask you one more time cos I have this lingering feeling you know exactly where she went or where she is right now. You shrug or say you don't know? You're gonna be in for a world of pain after Willow strips your power from you."

Kate shuddered and took a deep breath. "Rome. She went to Rome."

"There," Faith said and she let go of her. "Was that so frigging hard?"

"You find her, please don't tell her you found me first."

"Come on," Faith said to Willow and Kennedy. "Let's get outta here."

"Please don't tell her!" Kate cried out as the three walked out of the small apartment and headed down the stairs. "Please!"

"Rome is a big city, Faith, huge," Willow said as they exited the building and headed towards the SUV on the street. "We could've gotten more information out of her. What if she knows where Buffy is staying exactly? How are we going to find her in Rome, Faith?"

"We?" Faith laughed. "No, there is no we_. _None of you are coming. I'm doing this alone."

"But-"

"Look, Willow, it'll be easier for me to track her if I'm alone. Buffy isn't stupid either and she'll figure out she's being tracked down if any of you are with me. I'm likely the last person in the world she expects to be looking for her. You want me to find her and bring her home? I go to Rome _alone_."

* * *

Faith climbed off the back of the old Honda, paying the driver with what she hoped was the right amount. Slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder, she took in her surroundings. Rome was a big city and she'd been there once before and knew how easy it was to become lost just by taking one wrong turn on the maze of streets that littered the city.

After hours of being briefed on Buffy's last adventure in Rome, the months that she had spent there with Dawn and Andrew after Sunnydale, Faith knew she had her favorite spots in the city, various café's and dance clubs. She was holding out onto hope that Buffy would frequent those same spots, especially since as far as Buffy was concerned, nobody knew she was in Rome, hiding herself from the people that loved her and cared about her.

Faith was feeling the long flight she'd been on for the last nine hours. The plane had stopped over in a town in Poland for almost an hour and Faith had used that time to study the notes that Dawn had given to her, addresses of the places Buffy used to frequent years before when they'd been living there, an address for a hotel she'd be staying at and the surrounding areas. There were other notes, contact names of slayers living there in the city as well as contact numbers for informants and a handful of demon allies.

The driver had dropped her off a few blocks from the hotel, a mistake she realized as she started walking down the quiet, dark street. Pulling out her phone, she pulled up the GPS and quickly made her way towards the hotel. She needed to get herself settled in and because it was so late, she knew that most of the streets around the hotel weren't safe at any hour of the night.

The sounds of a fight nearby halted her in her tracks. Moving quickly while trying to keep herself concealed by the dark shadows along the narrow street, she approached the corner and peered around to look at where the fight was taking place. There were two large vampires and right in the middle of it was Buffy. Faith stayed where she was, just out of sight and watched Buffy as she effortlessly fought the two vampires, taking the one out of her left before making quick work of the second one.

"This was easier than I thought it'd be," Faith whispered to herself, almost in awe that by chance she'd stumbled across Buffy and she hadn't even been in the city for more than an hour.

Staying hidden by the wall, Faith watched Buffy as she dusted herself off. Even in the darkness, the street lights barely illuminating a soft glow, Faith could see how much she'd changed, her hair was slightly darker, the dye job already fading and showing the blonde that was underneath. There was something different about her and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was exactly. When Buffy started to walk in the opposite direction, Faith hung back just long enough to be able to follow her without-hopefully-being detected.

Faith pulled her hood up over her head and kept her head down low as she followed Buffy out to a busier street where people were walking, talking, laughing and dancing to the street band that was playing nearby. She didn't want to lose Buffy in the crowd, but getting any closer to her would look too suspicious. She slipped into a group of college guys and a handful of girls, blending herself into the crowd as she kept her eyes on Buffy.

Buffy was barely fifty feet away and she was talking with a man with sandy blonde hair. She was laughing and flirting and willingly took the offered glass of red wine the man offered her. In a matter of minutes, she and the man disappeared into one of the shops and Faith weaved her way through the crowd. She hung off to the side of the window of the small café and peered inside. There Buffy sat at a small table with the same man Faith had seen her with just outside moments ago, but they weren't alone. Two other women sat with them and Faith couldn't see their faces, just their long dark, nearly black hair.

Knowing she was risking being found following Buffy, Faith quickly made her way through the crowd and down the street to the hotel that was just around the corner. She had found a stroke of luck and found Buffy. Now it was just a matter of approaching her while she was alone and having a little chat with her, find out just what was going on with her.

Pulling out her phone as she stood just outside the small hotel doorway, she dialed a familiar number and waited. "Yo, Giles. No, nothing is wrong. I got here fine, yeah. Hold up," she said and took a deep breath. "I found her. No, she doesn't know I'm here, she didn't see me. You can tell the others, sure. She didn't look hurt or in distress. Look, I'll call you with anymore updates, but right now I'm gonna get myself settled in and see if I can find her tomorrow."

Faith hung up before Giles could say another word. Taking a deep breath, she headed into the hotel to check in, the reservation under Hope Lyonne, a precaution taken in case Buffy had informants of her own around the city.

The room was small, barely big enough to move around the single bed and small dresser that was in there. The bathroom was even smaller than she expected, but there was a shower and hot water and that's all that she cared about. She tossed her duffel bag on the bed and walked over to the window, discovering there was a very small balcony out there.

Stepping out, she breathed in deep, the night air slightly warm and sticky with a hint of humidity lingering in the air, a world of a difference from Scotland and Cleveland that was for sure.

The street below was still filled with people still dancing to the street band playing around the corner. They all appeared happy, enjoying their night and oblivious to what dangers could be lurking around any of the dark corners in the alleyways between each row of buildings. Faith stared down at a young couple, obviously drunk as they walked down the street, arms linked as they stumbled around and giggled together.

The further the young couple got away from the crowd, the more they stumbled with every step they took. Faith couldn't take her eyes off of them. Something didn't seem right to her and that lingering feeling in the pit of her stomach said that something was stalking them and all she was doing was standing there.

The instant the woman screamed, Faith leapt back into her room and grabbed her dagger out of her weapons pouch that had been concealed by a spell so she could board the plane with them without being detected. She made her way down the three floors and out the front door, sprinting off in the direction she had last seen the couple from her balcony. They were nowhere to be seen and she checked the street quickly, finding a small trail of blood leading to the dark alleyway near the hotel.

Gripping her dagger in her hand, she followed the trail, keeping quiet with every fluid step she took. She could hear soft whimpering cries up ahead and as she got closer, she could see the young couple backed up against the wall, the man bleeding from a nasty gash across his forehead.

"Hello, Faith."

Faith spun around at the sound of Buffy's voice from behind her. Before she even faced her, she felt that hard right hook to the side of her head and everything faded to black.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three_**

Faith groaned as she forced her eyes to open. All she felt was pain, not just where she'd been hit in the head, but from the cuffs that were on her wrists, both hands cuffed behind her back. The sensations of cold and stagnant water definitely got her senses back and she sputtered as she opened her eyes, struggling not to gag over the smell and taste of the water.

"Fuck," Faith groaned softly as she blinked the water from her eyes.

"Rise and shine, Faith," Buffy said cheerfully as she grabbed Faith and sat her up on the cold concrete floor. "Oh come on, I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"

"What the hell, B?"

Buffy laughed as she backed away from Faith. "I was about to ask the same thing when I noticed you following me earlier. Bet you thought I didn't know you were there, didn't you? You're good, but not as good as you think you are when it comes to trying to be all stealthy-like, Faith."

Faith licked over her lips, tasting blood from where her lip had split. "You used me as your own personal punching bag after you knocked me out, B? That's a new low, even for you."

"Had to make sure you stayed unconscious. It's nothing personal," Buffy replied with a shrug, a sly smile curling over her lips. "Now, what are you doing here and how did you find me?"

"Came here to bring ya home, B."

"I am home, F."

"Your friends are worried about ya. Don't you even care?"

"Does it look like I care?"

"Looks like you've turned into a raving, ungrateful little bitch."

Faith braced herself for the punch she knew was coming, but surprisingly Buffy stood there and laughed. Buffy started pacing the floor in front of her and Faith took a moment to look at her surroundings. From the looks of it, they were in a cellar and the single lightbulb that hung from the middle of the ceiling was the only source of light. The shelves were bare and dusty, the odd bottle of wine scattered around on them. A ladder led up to a door in the ceiling on the other end of the small cellar and the door was latched shut. There was no way she was getting out of there with her hands cuffed behind her back, even if she figured out a way to knock Buffy out.

Turning her attention back to Buffy, she could see her more clearly than she had out on the streets and in that café. She was dressed in tight black leather pants, knee-high leather boots with a five inch heel, her black top was almost sheer, showing the revealing lacy black bra she wore underneath. Her makeup wasn't as soft as it usually was, her eyeliner was heavy, the mascara and eyeshadow all over the top and black. Her lips were lined with a deep red lipstick and her nails were long, sharp and painted to match the color of her lips. In a moment of realization, Faith knew exactly who Buffy reminded her of.

"Copying my old look, huh?" Faith smirked at her. "Looks good on you, B."

"Shut up."

Faith shifted and tried to get a little bit of leverage, but the handcuffs were too tight and she could almost feel the circulation being cut off every time she so much as moved her arms.

"You never answered my question."

"What one?" Faith asked, cocking her head to the side as she watched Buffy pick up a skinny dagger off the shelf near her. "What question, B?"

"How did you find me?"

"Good old fashioned tracking. It's something that, in case you've completely forgotten, is kind of my job these days and it's definitely something I've gotten good at."

Buffy scoffed and she ran her fingertip of the delicate yet sharp tip of the dagger. From the crazy glint in her eyes, Faith knew that if she said one wrong thing to her or so much as pissed her off even more, she probably wouldn't hesitate to use the knife on her. Wouldn't be the first time and she was hoping that it wouldn't end up being the last.

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want, B, but it's the truth. Besides," Faith said and she shifted again, trying to hold back the cry that came out anyway at the pain in her wrists as the cuffs dug deeper into her skin. "Rome? You're joking right? I'm actually surprised your friends hadn't thought to look here at all."

Faith stared Buffy down, watching the anger flicker in her eyes, expecting her to lash out at her and instead just jammed the skinny dagger into the wood shelf. Buffy stormed towards the ladder and looked back at Faith.

"You better be gone before I come back," she said through gritted teeth and tossed a single key to the floor near Faith.

"Gee thanks, B!" Faith yelled out as Buffy climbed up the ladder and the hatch opened from above and she was pulled out of the cellar. "Fuck."

Unsure if Buffy was playing some kind of a game or was really letting her go, Faith shifted on the floor and struggled to reach for the small key. With her hands behind her back, it was awkward to try to pick the key up and hard, yet not impossible, to get the key into the cuffs. Once she had one off, she got the other and let the cuffs fall to the floor. Standing up slowly, she lifted a hand to her head where Buffy had punched her. It still hurt, more than ever, but Buffy had always had a hard right hook.

Listening carefully as she approached the ladder, she could hear voices, Buffy's and one other, a man. She looked back at the skinny dagger Buffy had jammed into the wood and she grabbed it, feeling better about getting out of there if she had a weapon. Every step she climbed up on the ladder, she could hear the two talking more clearly and they weren't just talking, they were arguing, but about what, Faith didn't quite know.

As the voices faded away, she took her chance and opened the hatch door just enough to look out. The room was dark and she could hear Buffy's voice coming from the next room over. Taking a deep breath, Faith opened the hatch more and pulled herself out, not taking a chance at sticking around any longer than she had to.

The only window in the small room had been left wide open and she made her way over to it and climbed out. Faith jogged away from the house and checked her pockets, fully relieved when she found her cell phone still tucked in the front pocket of her jacket. She took a few pictures of the house she'd been in and quickly made her way back to the hotel a few blocks away.

Once she was in her room and the door was locked, she pulled her phone out again and called Giles. Things had changed with what had unfolded with her chance meeting with Buffy. She'd been held captive and then let go and for what reason? She'd been sure that she wouldn't have just been let go that easily.

Something told her that the Buffy she saw wasn't acting on her own. She was being played like a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings.

* * *

After a day of communicating back and forth with the others in Scotland, Giles arrived in Rome with Willow, Kennedy and two younger slayers. They decided the hotel wasn't an ideal place to stay and after hours of searching, Giles found a house for rent a few blocks away from the hotel.

"This doesn't seem right," Willow said as they sat around the wood table in the small kitchen. "Why would she take you and then just let you go?"

"Been asking myself the same thing," Faith replied.

"Is she possessed?" Kennedy asked. "She has to be possessed, right?"

"Or under a spell," Willow added. "I could look into it, try to see if I can tap into whatever mystical energy has been used around here and see if I can pick up on it?"

"It's too much of a risk," Giles said with a shake of his head. "If she is indeed under a spell, whoever has cast the spell will sense you, Willow."

"What's the game plan then?" Kennedy asked and they all looked over at Faith.

She wasn't sure what the game plan was. For all they knew, Buffy could've left Rome by now and could be anywhere in the world. But, Faith knew she hadn't left. She could almost sense her through the slayer connection. She could sense Kennedy and the younger slayers, but the vibe wasn't as strong as it was with Buffy. It was something she could never understand, but Giles had once told her it was likely they could sense one another because they shared the slayer line.

"We should monitor her movements, the people she is with, but stay out of sight, out of mind. We must determine if she has been possessed or if she is in fact acting this particular way all on her own," Giles said and he had a hint of sadness in his voice. "Faith?"

"Yeah, G?"

"It'll be up to you. She knows you are here, but she does not know that we are. It'd be best if it's kept that way for as long as possible. Once we determine what is causing her to behave this way, we'll come up with a plan to move in and retrieve her."

Faith was used to working alone, but this was far different than just tracking down and retrieving a young and out of control slayer. This was Buffy and she was stronger than most slayers, quicker, smarter and would very likely have a team of her own to back her up if things got messy.

They discussed a plan of action, which would result in Faith locating Buffy and following her wherever she went, all the while she'd be cloaked by a spell to block out their connection, further eliminating the chance that Buffy would realize she was being watched. The risk was high, especially if Buffy had a witch of her own playing on her side. Being cloaked would give off a vibe, especially to a powerful witch and there was no telling what would happen if it came down to that.

Satisfied with what they'd agreed on, Faith headed for one of the bedrooms, desperately in need of sleep before they put the plan into action first thing the next morning. The room was just as small at the room at the hotel had been, but the bed was softer and the big window allowed a nice, warm breeze to flow through.

Stripping out of her clothes and into a pair of shorts and a tank top, she climbed into the bed and closed her eyes. She could hear the others talking in the kitchen as she drifted off to sleep, she could hear the worry in Giles' voice whenever he spoke of what they would do with Buffy once they had retrieved her. But the voices faded as Faith fell into a deep sleep where the world of dreams and nightmares waited.

* * *

Faith sipped her coffee as she sat at the table just outside the quiet café. The necklace she wore not only cloaked her slayer essence, but made her appearance different to everyone else. She had learned just how high tech Buffy and the Scooby gang had become over the years and she was armed with a tracking device, two of them in fact. One was for her and the other she needed to somehow place on Buffy without her knowing. Easier said than done. The bluetooth she wore in her ear was more than just another bluetooth, it had a built in, nearly invisible camera that documented everything and was fed to Willow's laptop where they could see everything she could in real time.

"Volete un altro?" The brunette waitress that had served her earlier asked her and she waved the coffee carafe, indicating what she meant.

"Yeah, sure," Faith nodded, sliding her mug over and watched as she filled it and then promptly left to attend to another customer.

Faith had been sitting at the café for well over an hour and there had been no sign of Buffy yet. She had, however, seen the man that Buffy had met up with the other day. He had come to the café shortly after she arrived and seated himself inside. As far as she knew, he had not left yet, but every time she had looked inside, she couldn't spot him.

She shifted in her chair and casually looked around at the other customers seated at the other tables in front of the café. There were a few very obvious tourists, American, who were talking excitedly about some kind of adventure tour they'd be taking later that morning. There were a few old men who talked in rapid Italian, highly engaged in their conversation. Faith sipped her coffee again and looked at the door just as the man with sandy blonde hair stepped out.

"Lucian!" The waitress said as she approached him. "Dove è la tua ragazza?"

"Buffy è la sua strada."

Faith slid her sunglasses on and watched the man and the waitress as they interacted. Buffy had been mentioned, but the rest of their conversation was lost on her. She didn't know a word of Italian, but from the way the waitress asked him that question, it definitely was something asked about Buffy, that much she figured.

A black Cooper Mini pulled up a few feet away from where Faith was sitting and Buffy got out of the drivers side. Her outfit wasn't much different from the other day, mostly all black, her makeup heavy with her lipstick that deep, bright right like her nails. She wore a tight and very short black skirt, the same knee high boots and a black silk top, the v-neck low enough to reveal she definitely wasn't wearing a bra. Faith had eyes, of course, and there was no mistaking just how attractive Buffy was when she was dressed like that. She sipped her coffee, her eyes on Buffy, hidden by her dark sunglasses and she held her breath as Buffy walked by her.

"Luc!" Buffy said happily as she walked over to the man and wrapped her arms around him. "Have you been waiting long?"

"An hour," he replied angrily. "Where have you been?"

"I got caught up," Buffy replied, shrugging it off. "It's gorgeous today. Why don't was sit outside? Carmela? Potrei avere un latte senza grassi? Grazie."

The waitress nodded and headed off inside while Buffy and the man sat down at a table a few over from Faith's. She moved her chair over to the left to give herself a clearer view of Buffy. She didn't take her eyes off of Buffy, watching as she sat close to the man and leaned in to kiss him. The way he smiled at her and placed his hand on her thigh made it quite obvious they were together. But the friendly smiles, the soft kisses and touches ended quickly as they started talking.

"Why did you let her go?"

"I told you a hundred times already, Luc, I didn't just let her go," Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes. "Faith is a slayer too. You know as well as I do that you can't just toss a slayer into your cellar and expect her not to escape the first chance she got."

"She is a threat to you. To us."

"She probably already left," Buffy replied. "Let's not talk about her right now. I just want my non-fat latte and start my morning off right."

"And if she hasn't left?"

"Lucian, please. When it comes to Faith, I can handle her, okay? She isn't a threat to us. She doesn't even know I'm here with you right now."

Faith tried not to laugh and a small laugh escaped despite, but it was lost among the chatter of the people surrounding her and Buffy didn't even so much as look in her direction. Faith wasn't sure what to make of the two of them. Was this man the reason behind Buffy's disappearing act and why she was acting the way she was? Or was this man someone Buffy had met when she first arrived in Rome? From their conversation, it was hard for Faith to tell, but it wasn't lost on her that this man considered her a threat to him and Buffy. For whatever reason that was, Faith knew they had to figure it out sooner rather than later.

Faith placed a few euro's on the table and left. She didn't go very far, placing herself strategically near the front entrance to a bakery just across the road. She couldn't talk to Giles or Willow within earshot of Buffy and she needed to touch base with them, see if they could do some digging on this man, Lucian.

_"Faith?"_ Willow said into her ear. _"Don't go far."_

"Not planning to. Need you to look into this guy Buffy is with."

_"We're already on it,"_ Willow replied. _"So far there are hundreds, if not thousands of men named Lucian. We need a last name, maybe even an address?"_

"What about the house I was taken to? It might be his."

_"Of course! I'll be in touch. And remember-"_

"I know, Willow."

Faith sighed loudly and leaned against the brick wall. She looked back over at Buffy, watching as she and Lucian had a heated discussion. Since she was just out of earshot, she couldn't make out what they were saying, but whatever it was they were arguing about ended when Buffy slapped him hard across the face and left. She headed up the street in the opposite direction of Faith, leaving her car behind.

Moving quickly, Faith followed her, looking back every couple of steps to make sure that she wasn't being followed by Lucian or anyone else. Faith followed Buffy for a couple of blocks before stopping when Buffy walked into a boutique. Deciding to take a risk, Faith entered the boutique a few minutes later and immediately spotted Buffy going through a rack of dresses. Trying to blend into the nearly empty shop, she walked over to a rack of mostly leather pants.

Seeing her chance at placing the tracker when Buffy left her purse just outside the dressing room she entered, Faith quickly walked over and placed the small device inside one of the pockets and headed to the front of the shop.

"Red?" Faith said under her breath as she walked out onto the street. "It's done. The tracker is, well, not exactly _on_ her, but with her."

_"Come back to the house. We'll come up with another plan on what we're going to do next."_

* * *

Faith paced the kitchen floor as they all took the new information in. Willow had found out who, or more precisely, what Lucian was. An incubus. A demon. Faith had heard of them before, but she never thought she'd ever see one. If this man truly was an incubus, it meant that Buffy was definitely under some kind of a spell. There was something disturbing about it all and the fact that Buffy, being a slayer, had become an ally of a demon was something that none of them ever saw coming.

"Do you think that Buffy knows what he is?" Kennedy asked quietly.

"It's likely she does," Giles answered first. "An incubus cannot hide it's true form from a lover. That is, if we're presuming that he and Buffy are indeed, ahem, lovers."

"Knew there was something off about the guy," Faith said and she chuckled bitterly. "So, what do we do? How do we get rid of him?"

"Unfortunately, he is human," Giles said softly. "The incubus has taken possession of his human body. It's likely that whoever this man is, he has no recollection of this demon inside of him. Be as that may, there is not nearly enough solid information about an incubus. Most of it lies in folklore, which means a lot of that information is not always proven true to form."

"In folklore, incubus prey on women. They are looking to breed," Willow said and she scrunched her face. "Oh Goddess, does this mean this incubus is trying to get Buffy pregnant with a demon spawn?"

"Let's not jump to any rash conclusions as of yet."

"So, we can't kill the guy. What are we going to do? If he's the reason that Buffy is being the way she is, we need to get rid of him, don't we?" Faith asked and the others murmured in agreement. "Why do I get the feeling the whole game plan just changed on us?"

"Because it has," Willow replied. "If we want a chance at bringing Buffy home with us, we need to get Lucian out of the picture first."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"Well," Willow said slowly as she looked at Faith. "He's a sexual predator, if you want to put it that way. It's very possible that Buffy isn't the only woman he is uh, sleeping with. Incubus prey on attractive and sexual women and uh, Faith, you are uh-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sex personified. Guess that means I'm playing the role of bait now, huh?" She chuckled bitterly. "There's just one problem with that. Lucian knows what I look like and who I am. He was freaking out on Buffy cos she let me go the other day. I'm thinking this guy had other plans when it came to me."

"There is a high risk in doing this, Faith."

"I know, Giles. Everything I do has a risk of sorts, but hey someone has to bite the bullet and get the job done at the end of the day. Just so happens that someone is me."

Faith wasn't comfortable with the idea of being bait to lure in Lucian so they could eliminate him from the picture, but after learning what he was, it had to be done. He could very much be the reason behind Buffy's deviance behavior and her leaving her home, her friends and family behind in Scotland without an explanation or even a goodbye.

Despite it all, she was there to do her job and that was to bring Buffy back to Scotland. Going into it, she knew there was going to be some difficulty, a lot of obstacles to overcome along the way, but having a demon, an incubus at that, thrown into the mix, was something she knew none of them were remotely prepared for.

"The tracker is still working," Willow said, pulling Faith from her thoughts. She turned the laptop on the table for the others to see. "I'm recording her movement. I'm thinking if we can find a pattern, there might be a way to get her away from Lucian just long enough for Faith to lure him to her."

"In the meantime," Giles said, yawning as he stood up. "I propose we all get some sleep. There is no telling what type of day lies ahead."

Faith was the first to leave the kitchen, heading straight up to her room. As she did the previous night, she stripped out of her clothes and into a pair of shorts and a tank top before collapsing on the soft bed.

* * *

Faith knew she was dreaming, but the feel of soft yet strong hands roaming over her body felt far too real for it to be a dream. She was afraid to open her eyes, not sure if she was simply mistaken and that she wasn't dreaming, but that this was happening.

The soft and warm lips on hers made her open her eyes, but it was too dark to make out who it was that hovered above her, kissing her softly. She recognized the distinct vanilla perfume that only one person she knew always wore. Buffy.

Faith lay stiff beneath her, her hands at her sides, her lips unmoving. As Buffy settled her weight on top of her, Faith moaned and kissed her back, her tongue dipping out and slipping over Buffy's soft, warm lips. She had dreams like this before, sometimes about Buffy, sometimes about a random woman or man, but never had it ever felt so _real_ before. Deciding to test that theory, she lifted her hands and ran them up Buffy's smooth and bare legs, feeling the warmth of her skin practically ignite her hands as she touched her.

Buffy pulled back from her lips suddenly and the darkness that had engulfed the room before was replaced by a soft glow coming in from the window. Faith took a moment to really look at Buffy and look at her she did. Buffy sat astride her, completely nude, the heavy make-up she'd been wearing the couple of times Faith had seen her over the last handful of days nearly gone.

Buffy didn't say a word as she placed her hands over Faith's that had stopped moving when she reached her hips. Gently she removed Faith's hands from her and pulled Faith up until she was sitting. Letting go of her hands, Buffy reached for the hem of her tank top and quickly pulled it up and off, Faith not even bothering to relent.

With a soft grunt, Buffy shoved her back down on the bed, her lips instantly on hers again, kissing her hard and deep as she ground her hips down against Faith's. Buffy was in complete control and Faith had no desire to take it. Not yet or because she didn't have control of herself, she wasn't sure what it was, but she felt like she was floating on cloud nine.

Faith gripped on to Buffy's hips, pulling her harder against her. She wanted nothing more than to be out of her shorts, to feel Buffy fully against her, to feel hot hot and wet she knew she was.

Buffy tore her lips away roughly, both gasping for air. Faith's eyes slid shut as Buffy trailed her lips down to her neck, sucking her pulse point hard for a few moments before raining the pulsating skin with feather-light kisses.

Things became a blur for a little while, reminding Faith that it was very much a dream despite how real everything felt to her. She struggled to slow things down and when she became more in control of the speed of the dream, she could feel the warm and strong tongue between her legs, licking expertly over her swollen, throbbing clit.

"Oh fuck," Faith cried out, her hands sliding into Buffy's hair as she held her close to her.

Buffy brought her so close to the edge of a mind-blowing orgasm before she nipped and licked her way up her body, a teasing smile dancing over her lips as she hovered above her. Faith was worked up beyond belief and needing some relief. But it was a struggle against whatever was keeping her from taking control and every time she tried to reach out for Buffy, her body felt heavier and harder to move.

Faith tried to relax, but her body was tense, her pussy throbbing and every inch of her just wanted more, it being just a dream or not.

Buffy's sly, teasing smile was still dancing over her lips as she trailed a hand down Faith's body ever so slowly. Her tender, light touch changed the instant it slid between her legs and she thrust two fingers hard inside of Faith, her long fingernails sharp and making it far more painful than it was pleasurable. Faith cried out, tears stinging her eyes as Buffy fucked her hard with her fingers relentlessly.

Faith could feel the tears sliding out and she was powerless to stop them from falling, and completely powerless when it came to trying to stop Buffy. She closed her eyes tight, shutting out the pain and when she felt a strong hand on her throat, she opened her eyes wide in alarm and shock as Buffy began to strangle her. Gasping and choking as she struggled to breathe, she thrashed under Buffy, wanting nothing more than to wake up from the nightmare the dream had become.

"This isn't over," Buffy whispered harshly into her ear. "This is far from being over, Faith."

The dream began to fade, Faith could feel it as the darkness took over and she could no longer feel Buffy astride her, her hands on her and in her. With a sharp gasp, she woke up with a jolt, completely drenched in sweat.

"What the fuck?" Faith groaned as she clutched at her chest, her heart racing hard and fast. "Jesus christ."

Faith glanced at the clock on the table beside the bed. She'd been asleep for nearly six hours and yet that dream had made it feel like she'd hardly slept for that long at all. Trying to calm herself down, she got up and headed out of the room and down the short hallway to the bathroom. The harsh light made her wince as she flipped it on, but nothing could prepare her for the sight she saw in the mirror.

Along with the very noticeable love bite on her neck, there was also an angry red mark, one that only appeared after being strangled nearly to death. Hands shaking, she lifted the hem of her tank top and glanced down at her stomach, gasping at the angry red bite marks that trailed downwards. Shaking her head, she turned on the tap and splashed the cool water on her face, wondering if she was still dreaming. Every time she looked at her reflection in the mirror, it never changed. The marks were still there. Even when she touched the deep red and purple love bite, it hurt.

Turning off the bathroom light, she made her way back down the hallway and knocked on Giles' door. This was something that couldn't wait until the morning. Whatever had just happened was more than just a dream.

"Faith? What is-"

"We've got a serious problem, G," Faith said as she stepped past him into the small bedroom and flipped on the lights.

Giles took in her distraught appearance and stared at the marks he could see on her neck. Clearing his throat, he reached for his glasses on the nightstand and nodded his head. "It appears that we most definitely do."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four_**

The details of the dream were something that Faith wasn't willing to share with the others, especially not Willow, but from the marks left on her body, it left little to the imagination and filling in the blanks were easy. The answers to how it was possible was even more unsettling than knowing the man Buffy had been seen with was an incubus. Buffy herself had been possessed by a succubus, the female counterpart to an incubus, and her prey, as it turned out, was now Faith.

While the others dug into researching the demons, Faith found a way up on to the flat roof of the house. Faith had a lot on her mind and it wasn't just centered around what had happened while she slept. Finding Buffy and returning her home now seemed a lot easier than the situation they now found themselves in. There was no telling how long Buffy had been possessed by the succubus demon and there was no way to know how many victims that had been left in her wake.

"I thought you could use a cup of tea," Giles said as he came out onto the roof with a cup of tea in each hand. "Lovely spot up here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, sure," Faith shrugged and she took the offered cup of tea, made just the way she liked it. "You guys find out anything more about these demons?"

"Unfortunately not much more. Both are a rare species, both had long believed to have died out centuries ago. The material we need will be rather hard to get our hands on. But from what I do know, I believe that it is rather unorthodox that a succubus would prey on a female."

"Everything that happens in our lives is unorthodox, G."

"Indeed."

Faith sipped her tea, an eyebrow rising as she could taste the faintest hint of whisky in it. Smiling, she took another sip before setting the cup on the ledge and she stared out over the rooftops. She lifted a hand to her neck, the skin still tender around her pulse point.

"This whole thing is fucked right up," Faith muttered under her breath. "Here I thought I was coming here to find Buffy and bring her back home. Turns out, just like a lot of things in my life, it's gonna be a lot harder than we thought it was gonna be."

"Are you having regrets about agreeing to this mission, Faith?"

"No," she said quickly. "No regrets. Even if it was another slayer and not Buffy, I'd still stick around. You know why? Cos it's the right thing to do."

"When all is said and done and Buffy has returned to herself and is back home, she'll be grateful for the things you have done and will have to do."

"Oh yeah, I'm just her knight in leather pants," Faith chuckled bitterly. "Or I would be if I had a pair. Last pair I had got trashed. Speaking of-"

"How much?"

"Cheap."

Giles chuckled with a shake of his head. "Perhaps, when this situation is resolved, we could make a quick stop before heading off."

"Am I interrupting anything?" Willow asked as she stood at the small doorway that led up to the roof. "Because we kind of found something."

Faith followed the two back inside and down to the kitchen which had turned into research central earlier that morning. Andrew, Dawn, and Xander had arrived that morning and with them they brought a lot of research material from the library in the castle. Faith put as much distance between herself and the Scooby gang as she could in the small kitchen, watching as Dawn handed Giles a heavy, old book.

"The origins," Giles muttered under his breath as he flipped through a few pages. "Ah, excellent find, Dawn."

"So it's good information?"

"Far better than anything else we've stumbled upon, yes."

"The hard part is going to be the exorcism. We need a priest, possibly two to do it," Willow said and she glanced over at Faith. "We also need to capture both of them as well and it won't be easy, not with Buffy knowing you're here to bring her home."

"That thing is not Buffy," Dawn stated.

"She's still Buffy, Dawnie. A part of her is still there. She wouldn't have let Faith go if she wasn't."

Faith looked to Giles, knowing he was already coming up with a plan in his head, working out the details on his own before sharing it with the others. She had a few ideas of her own as well, one wondering if she captured one, would the other come in search of its counterpart? Taking a sip of her tea, she looked at Giles again as he began pacing the kitchen floor.

Dawn and Willow were otherwise preoccupied, Willow trying to explain to Dawn how possession worked and that even possessed, Buffy was still in there, just not under control all the time. Faith had seen young slayers possessed in her time working with Giles and it was never a pretty sight. Although it was rare, it happened and when it happened to a slayer, it meant the demon inside of them had to fight harder to stay in control, fighting with the essence of the slayer day in and day out.

"Slayer One on the move," Andrew said as he stared at Willow's laptop, watching the live feed of the tracker Faith had placed with Buffy. "Traveling north, five miles west of here. Speed suggests she's in a vehicle."

"Thank you, Andrew," Giles said tiredly. "Before we do anything, we must come up with a feasible plan. Faith, do you have any ideas or suggestions?"

"Faith is hardly in any position to make any decisions when it comes to my sister," Dawn snapped. "What are you even doing here anyway?"

"You guys needed a slayer to bring Buffy home."

"We have a slayer! We have hundreds of slayers! We-we have Kennedy!"

"Dawn-"

"No, Willow, why does she even have to be here? She's just another slayer. She's not a part of what we have here. She's-"

"What?" Faith asked as she got right in Dawn's face. "I'm what? A nothing? A nobody? A loser who is trying to prove herself to you people that I'm good and reformed now? No, I'll tell you what I am, Dawn. I'm the only one who could track Buffy down and I proved as much. Kennedy or any of the other slayers you have back in Scotland at that fancy castle of yours didn't have the balls to get any information on Buffy by all means possible."

"You almost killed Quinn!"

"I didn't almost kill him, jesus. Besides, Quinn was a liar, telling half-truths and likely covering for someone, Buffy maybe, who the hell knows, but I got the tapes and I was the one who found Kate who told me where I could find Buffy," Faith spat and she shook her head. "This is frigging ridiculous. You people call me and Giles in cos you knew I'd get the job done. Now that the whole sitch has turned into something else, you want me gone?"

Silence filled the kitchen and the tension between Faith and Dawn was at an all time high. Faith knew she wasn't exactly welcomed into the situation with open arms, but the others had reached out to her and Giles for help. She didn't have to help them, she could've just said screw that and went on with her life. But no, she agreed to help without a second thought because it was Buffy and because it was the right thing to do.

"You want me gone?" Faith asked Dawn again and she just nodded her head a little. "Fine. I'm gone."

"Faith-"

Ignoring Giles, Faith stormed out of the house and into the quiet street out front. She started walking, at first not knowing where she was going, just knowing she needed to get out of that house to cool off for a little while. She knew that Dawn was upset, her emotions wild and out of control because she was worried about Buffy. Even though the memories Faith had of Dawn weren't even real, she remembered that Dawn had never been like that with her, that they had been friendly until she chose to side with the Mayor and not Buffy. She couldn't blame Dawn for acting the way she was, but it didn't help her keep her cool much either.

Faith was still on edge over what happened in her dreams, over what Buffy had done to her and the fact that she woke up with marks on her body. It disturbed her that something like that had not only happened, but proved that it was very possible. She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't actually Buffy that had came to her in her dreams, it was the succubus appearing as Buffy that did.

After walking a few blocks, she spotted Buffy's car parked in front of a run-down, abandoned looking building. Even though she was without any weapons and her cell phone, she decided to take a look. Faith found a way around to the back of the building and peered into one of the partially boarded up windows. Inside it was dark and dusty and nearly empty, no sign of any furniture anywhere. Needing a better view, Faith quietly climbed up the fire escape that scaled the south end of the building and went up to the flat roof.

Up there she found a couple of skylights and an angled hatch door that lead inside. Her boots crunched on the gravel on the rooftop as she approached the closest skylight. Without touching the glass, she peered down inside, getting a much better view of the inside of the building than she had seen through the partially boarded up window on the ground floor.

Two people were almost directly below the skylight and she recognized one of them as Lucian. The other was another man and he was tied up to a metal chair, blood dripping from a gash in his forehead. Blinking, she looked again and recognized the man as the same one she'd followed into the alleyway that night Buffy grabbed her.

Faith knew she was putting herself at risk staying up there any longer, but she gave herself a few more minutes, needing to see just what the hell was going on down there. One thing was clear, that man had been taken just as she had been, but where was the woman he'd been with? Did they have her down in the building as well or was she being held somewhere else. Or, worse, did they kill her?

Watching as Lucian punched the man in the face hard, the screams, although muffled by the glass, caused her stomach to turn. When the man's head lolled around, she knew he'd been knocked out cold, yet that didn't stop Lucian from pulling a few more hard punches.

"Luc, stop!" Buffy yelled out as she came running into the room. Faith braced herself, leaning a little closer to the glass but still not quite touching it. "Luc! Stop it! You're going to kill him!"

"He's already been proven to be useless."

"He's innocent!"

"No such thing," Lucian yelled back at her. "What are you doing here, stupid girl? What if you lead one of _them_ here?"

"It doesn't matter, Lucian. This man is innocent. He doesn't-"

"He's _bait_," Lucian hissed. "We need him to remain here until he is retrieved."

_Bait for what_, Faith wondered and she leaned closer, trying to see if she could see if there was anyone else down there with them. But she was leaning too much and she couldn't regain her balance quick enough. She reached out to brace herself against the glass and it gave way.

"Fuck," Faith coughed as she landed on her back below. "Fuck, that hurt."

Shards of glass of rusted metal lay around her and on her. She blinked a few times and didn't move as she looked up at Buffy and Lucian as they stood by her just staring down at her, anger flickering in both their eyes, Buffy's showing a hint of surprise that she'd fallen from the roof.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Lucian bellowed as he reached out for her and yanked her to her feet.

"Well, you know I was thinking I hadn't spent much time wandering around random rooftops enough these days and when I saw you two, I just had to drop in," Faith replied, chuckling as she saw the anger rise in Lucian.

"I told you, stupid girl," Lucian bellowed as he shoved Faith towards Buffy who grabbed her quickly. "This one is a risk to us. You stupidly let her escape and now, everywhere I seem to turn, she is there."

"Everywhere?" Faith raised an eyebrow. "Buddy, I ain't been everywhere unless there's a doppelgänger out there walking around with this face."

"If you do not get rid of her, I will," Lucian growled at Buffy and he sneered at Faith as Buffy pulled her away.

"Get your hands off of me," Faith said angrily as she struggled to get out of Buffy's hold as she was dragged off towards a set of doors.

"But you seemed to enjoy it so much last night, _lover_," Buffy whispered harshly into her ear.

Faith pushed her away as they walked out to the back end of the building. Buffy spun around and shut the door quickly behind her and Faith wasn't taking any chances. This was Buffy, but she was being controlled by a demon and there was no telling what she would do to her. Taking a swing, Faith just clipped Buffy on the jaw before she dodged out of the way of a flying fist.

Laughing, Buffy charged at her, but Faith was ready even though she was feeling that fall from the skylight still. Faith wasn't going to go down without a fight and whatever Buffy had planned to do with her, she wasn't going to let it happen, no matter what the cost.

What surprised her the most was how much stronger Buffy was, as if the demon inside of her used her strength and its own together. In a split second, before Faith could react, she was thrown across the alleyway and landed side first into a dumpster. Not only was Buffy stronger, she was faster too and Faith groaned loudly as she was pulled to her feet just seconds later.

"I want you gone," Buffy said through gritted teeth. "And you can tell the others that if they don't leave as well, your blood will be on their hands."

"Come on, B," Faith groaned softly. "I know you're in there. Fight this thing."

"Shut up."

"Fight it, god damn it!" Faith yelled at her. Buffy shoved her to the ground, chest heaving as she clenched her fists at her side. "Fight it, Buffy. You're better than this."

"Shut the hell up!"

Faith shook her head and stood up slowly. Winking, she walked right up to Buffy and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Make me."

Every punch landed harder and hurt more than the last. Faith couldn't fight back, she never had a chance with the speed that Buffy's fists were flying at her. As she started to drift in and out of consciousness, Buffy didn't let up, not even for a second. Faith lay on the ground, curled up in a ball, focusing on anything else but the pain Buffy was delivering to her without a single shred of remorse.

Faith wasn't sure when Buffy stopped or when she walked away. She rolled on to her back and forced her eyes open, her left one swollen almost completely shut. The sky above was darkening and she knew laying there as night fell, she was an open meal to any vampires in the area. Yet, it hurt to move as she tried to sit up and she let out a cry, her hands gripping at her tender ribs.

Mustering up as much strength as she could, she got to her feet and looked around for a way out to the street. It was getting darker by the minute and her head was pounding, her vision blurred as she took a staggering step forward. Holding her sore ribs, she took another couple of steps and knew her ribs weren't broken, just tender and bruised from the beating Buffy had given her. Faith spotted an opening in between the abandoned building and the one next to it and headed for it, slowly yet surely, every step taking an excruciating amount of strength.

Faith stumbled out onto the quiet street and let out a cry as her legs gave out and she tumbled hard to the ground. There was not a single soul around, living or dead and she felt helpless to help herself. With her strength deteriorating and fast, she had no way of knowing whether she'd make it through the next hour of her life.

* * *

Everything was bright, a soft glow of white filled the otherwise empty room Faith was in. She recognized the room from previous dreams she'd had, dreams of her and Buffy. It was the tell-tale sign that she had passed out and succumbed to her injuries and was now trapped inside the dream world within her mind.

"It's useless, you know?"

Faith turned to look at where Buffy sat on the only piece of furniture in the entire room, a bed made with crisp white sheets, almost blending into the background.

"What's useless?"

Buffy sighed loudly, frowning as she looked down at her hands. Faith's eyes trailed downwards as well, seeing her hands, battered, bruised, her nails short and without the red nail polish. Her skin was pale, her hair lifeless and dirty. Even the clothes she wore, a pair of grey sweatpants and a baggy black t-shirt, were worn and dirty.

That nagging gut feeling told Faith that she was sharing a slayer dream with Buffy, something that hadn't happened in years. This was different than the other night when the succubus as Buffy had come to her. This was really just Buffy here with her, not the demon.

"Buffy?" Faith asked cautiously as she moved to stand at the edge of the bed. Buffy kept her eyes on her hands, her head hung low. "What's useless? You gonna tell me or am I gonna have to guess?"

"Fighting the demon."

Faith sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping some space between her and Buffy. Unable to be in complete control of herself, she reached out for one of Buffy's hands and gently intertwined her fingers with Buffy's and yet, Buffy still didn't lift her eyes to look at her and she could feel the hot tears as they fell from Buffy's eyes and landed on her hand.

"Why is it useless?"

"There are things you will never understand."

"Then tell me, B. Help me understand."

Buffy took her hands out of Faith's and gently cupped her face. "I want you to save me."

"I'm-"

"You can't save me if you can't fight the demon."

"Which is useless, yeah, you said that already, B. Look, I'm all for having these dreams with you, but this whole talking in circles, not really getting the answers? I ain't down with that."

"When she comes for you, fight."

"When who comes? The succubus?" Faith asked and Buffy just nodded her head slowly. "How do I fight it?"

"By remembering that it isn't me. It's just a copy, an illusion. If you do the impossible, what is rendered useless and you fight her, you can save me."

"B, what do you-"

"I'm somewhere else," Buffy continued, her hands dropping away from Faith's face. "Trapped. Alone. It's so dark, so cold. I'm afraid."

"Buffy-"

"Save me, Faith."

Faith reached out for her, but she had already disappeared and she was left there alone. Buffy's last words echoes inside her head as she struggled to wake herself up. She couldn't think about the things that Buffy had said to her there when she was still asleep. She couldn't come up with a plan if she couldn't wake herself up.

Tearing at the soft, white sheets on the bed, she let out a feral cry. She was angry and frustrated, taking it all out on the bed, ripping up the sheets and throwing the mattress into the never ending white void.

* * *

The steady beeping irritated Faith and she moaned as she slowly opened her eyes, the light in the room far too bright for her to handle. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was dry and tight and no sound came out. Panic began to wash over her as she tried to move, every inch of her body burning with a fiery pain.

"Faith, don't move," Giles said calmly and she felt his hand on top of hers.

Blinking, she tried to get her eyes to focus and she groaned as she sat up on the bed slowly. "Where-"

"You're in a clinic," Giles said and he reached for the small glass and the pitcher of water that sat on top of the bedside table. "You were badly beaten and left for dead in the middle of the road. If that gentleman hadn't found you and brought you here, good heavens, I do not want to think of what could've happened to you, Faith."

Faith sighed and with Giles' help, she sipped some water from the glass. Her head was pounding and she felt worse than she ever had before. Not even the fight she had with the Beast or Angelus had hurt this much.

"Dare I ask who did this to you?" Giles asked quietly and Faith just rolled her eyes. "Ah, right, the-the succubus. I wasn't aware such demons possessed a great power, especially not one to be able to beat a slayer to a bloody pulp."

"How-how long was I-"

"Just short of a day," Giles replied, knowing just what Faith was trying to ask him. "The doctors here had limited resources, and fortunately they were able to stabilize the internal bleeding fairly quickly. They wanted to move you to a hospital, but I declined to sign the papers on your behalf. I know how much you hate hospitals."

"This place is just as bad," Faith whispered hoarsely.

"Quite right," Giles replied with a soft smile. "Would it be rather silly to ask how you are feeling?"

"Like I've been beaten nearly to death by a possessed slayer."

Giles frowned slightly and Faith took another sip of water before laying back down on the bed. She closed her eyes, not because of the pain or because she was tired, but because the lights were far too bright. She hated feeling so weak, so banged up and helpless. She knew it could've been a far worse outcome. She knew she could've ended up dead in a ditch, drained of her blood or worse.

The slayer dream she shared with Buffy started to come back to her in bits and pieces, none of it too clear or making much sense, the pounding in her head making it harder to focus.

It wasn't just the shared slayer dream that was coming back to her mind, it was what had happened before she'd taken the beating of a lifetime. The abandoned building, Lucien and the man from the alleyway the night Buffy had taken her, the things she'd heard and about how the man was bait and for what, she had absolutely no idea.

It was overwhelming to say the least and with the state that she was in, she couldn't handle the hundreds of thoughts flowing through her mind. She knew the pain wouldn't last for more than a handful of days, if that, and that she was still at her worst at the moment, but that would change in a few short hours when the pain would become less and the pounding in her head would eventually just fade away.

"Hey," Dawn said meekly as she knocked on the open door. "Can I come in?"

"Yes," Giles replied.

"Hi, Faith," Dawn said as she cautiously approached the bed. "I uh, how are you feeling? We were all worried about you."

"Were you?"

Dawn took a deep breath, clearly focusing on not lashing out on Faith at the moment. "With your history of coma's and all, yeah, we were worried about you."

"Gee thanks."

"I want to apologize," Dawn said and she took a step closer to the bed. "I want to apologize for what I said to you yesterday before you took off. I was wrong. We do need you and if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't even be here right now and we wouldn't even know where Buffy is or what had happened to her, so I'm sorry."

Faith groaned as she sat back up on the bed and reached out for the glass, nearly knocking it over before Giles quickly grabbed it for her. Mouthing "thanks" she held the glass unsteadily as Giles poured her some more water.

"Buffy did this to you?" Dawn asked quietly, alarm rising in her eyes as she watched Faith painfully take a sip of water.

"It's not Buffy," Faith said under her breath. "It was the succubus."

"Inside of Buffy."

"No, Dawn," Faith groaned and she glanced over at Giles. "It's not really Buffy. It's just an illusion. A copy."

"How are you certain of-"

"Buffy came to me when I passed out in the street, in a slayer dream. It mostly didn't make a whole lot of sense, but she said she was trapped and alone."

"Are you sure it was a slayer dream?" Giles asked her patiently.

"As sure as I've ever been about anything, G."

"And this demon? It's taken her body or just a form of it?"

"Thinking it's-"

"Shape-shifted into Buffy?" Dawn interrupted. Faith sighed and nodded her head a little. "But everything we've read on those demons-it-none of it mentioned anything like that!"

"Dawn, you are aware that most of which we've found on these particular demons is simply just folklore. We haven't found anything solid as of yet on either of the demon's or their true abilities," Giles said pointedly. "Faith, I want you to rest and when you're feeling better, we'll discuss the details of this, ahem, slayer dream you shared with Buffy."

"I'd be able to relax and rest a helluva lot more easily if I wasn't in this place. It's just as bad as being in a hospital, G. You gonna spring me outta here soon or what?"

Silence filled the room as Giles and Dawn exchanged a look that left Faith feeling uneasy. She knew she'd taken a bad beating, that she'd been practically on the brink of death when she collapsed in the streets, but she hadn't thought it was _that_ bad. She was already healing and with every minute that passed, the pain lessened just a little.

There was a bit of awkward silence with Dawn still there in the room. Faith tried to clear her mind, but those hundreds of questions, thoughts, ideas and lack of answers pounded through her mind like a pack of racehorses on the track on a Sunday afternoon. Faith wanted to ask for something to relieve the pain, but she had never been one for drugs, prescription or otherwise, always dealing with the pain in her own way, preferably not in a clinic or a hospital room and with plenty of Jack to drown the pain, and her sorrows, away.

"Ah, the patient is awake," a young female doctor said, her voice thick with an Italian accent, as she walked into the room carrying a clipboard. "Faith, is it?" She asked and Faith nodded her head. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better, been worse. So, Doc, when can I get outta here?"

The young doctor laughed and her expression quickly turned serious. "You suffered serious injuries, most of which we were lucky to be able to treat here. Your guardian refused our offer to transfer you to the nearest hospital. You are very lucky to be alive, Faith."

"Yeah, figured as much," Faith grumbled under her breath. "Still didn't answer the question, Doc."

"Call me Dr. Fiore, please."

"Dr. Fiore," Faith repeated, slightly amused at the seriousness the young doctor showed. "When can I get outta here?"

The doctor looked over at Giles with an exasperated expression fluttering over her delicate features. Faith knew she was a difficult patient. Being anywhere where there were doctors and medical equipment always had her on edge, making her irritable and frustrated.

Faith knew the longer she had to stay there, the more time they would be wasting. It's not like she couldn't just get up and walk out of there, she could, but with her injuries and her body feeling like it'd been put through a meat grinder, she didn't quite have the energy to get up and leave. She kept her eyes on the young doctor, watching as she and Giles walked to the doorway to have a semi-private conversation away from her.

"Are you always this stubborn?" Dawn asked and Faith couldn't help but chuckle. "Really? You're worse than Buffy."

"Doubt that."

"Why do you hate hospitals so much? It's not like this is a hospital. Not really."

Faith didn't say anything, not wanting to get into that conversation. Not with Dawn, not with anyone. Dawn let out a soft sigh when Faith didn't answer her and she hesitated a moment before sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Why do you want to get out of here so badly, Faith? You're pretty banged up and if you could see your face right now, it's pretty gross."

"Thanks for the honesty, kiddo."

"Why?" Dawn pressed and Faith took a deep breath, staring at the youngest Summers' and wondering why, all of a sudden, the tables had turned and she was now concerned about her instead of not giving a single crap whether she lived or died. "Why, Faith?"

"There's more to this than Buffy being possessed," she whispered, her eyes darting over to the young doctor and Giles still quietly talking by the doorway. "The longer I'm in here-look," she sighed and tried to sit up a little more in the small, uncomfortable bed. "I came here to bring Buffy back home to you, to your friends and family. I'm gonna get the job done, Dawn, by all means possible. I can't do that if I'm stuck here, can I?"

"But you-"

"I'm hurt, yeah, but don't forget that I'm a slayer. I heal a lot quicker than your average human. All I need to do is get some rest, preferably anywhere but here, and I'll be five by five in a day or two."

"Giles will be super pissed if I break you out."

"He'll get over it," Faith whispered, winking as Dawn looked back over at Giles and the doctor. "Never figured you'd be offering to break me outta this joint."

"Never thought I'd even bother to offer."

Laughing, Faith couldn't help but smile at Dawn. When she wasn't being an annoying brat, she wasn't all that bad. While Giles and the doctor discussed running a handful of tests on Faith before she could be released from their care, Faith and Dawn began to scheme up a little plan of their own; Operation Bust Faith Out Of The Clinic Before She Goes Insane.

Faith needed to tell Giles and the others the details of the things she saw at that building, the things she heard. She needed to get out every last detail of the slayer dream she had with Buffy as well and hope that the Scooby gang could figure out what she was trying to say. All the things that needed to be done, it couldn't happen while she was stuck there, basically bedridden in a clinic that felt too much like a hospital to her.

The walls were starting to feel like they were closing in on her and she had to try her best to remain calm and not panic. Places like this always got to her and she didn't want to be in there any longer than she wanted to be.

And Dawn's plan seemed almost foolproof, almost. All they had to do was find a way to convince Giles and the doctor to leave just long enough for Dawn to help her get the hell out of there.

Easier said than done.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter Five_**

"Both of you are bloody stupid!" Giles yelled as he paced the kitchen floor. "Do you have any idea the risks you've put yourself under, Faith? You are seriously injured! Would it have killed you to spend one more godforsaken night in the clinic just to make sure you're all right?"

Faith stood leaning up against the counter, arms casually crossed over her chest. The plan she and Dawn had come up with had gone off without a hitch. After they convinced Giles to go back to the house and then convinced the doctor Faith needed some rest, Dawn found a wheel chair and got her out of there without anyone getting in their way. By the time they'd gotten halfway back to the house, Faith was already feeling much better than she had been before and walked the rest of the way, ditching the wheelchair by a dumpster behind a small restaurant.

Dawn sat at the table, her head hung low as Giles continued pacing the floor. She looked like a young child being scolded for doing something she was told not to do. Faith rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Giles, stopping his inane pacing that was driving her up the wall.

"Look, G, stop it, okay?" Faith said calmly. "I'm fine. That place, it just messes with my head and I wasn't gonna get any better lying in that bed, stressing out about being there in the first place."

"You're still bloody stupid!"

"Fine, I'm stupid!" Faith yelled back and Giles sighed heavily and shook his head. "But we've got a lot of other problems on our hands right now than for you to be yelling at us like we're frigging five years old."

"She's right," Kennedy spoke up, having been otherwise silent for the last twenty minutes that Giles had been yelling at Faith and Dawn. "We're here because of Buffy, _for_ Buffy. Now, why don't we all just calm down and listen to what Faith has to say?"

Faith, meanwhile through all the yelling and bickering that had been going on, had been trying to put the pieces of this whole mess of a situation together. Where did Kate come in? Was it Buffy who had gotten her to do the cloaking spell which enabled her to disappear without being found, or was it the demon the entire time? How long had Buffy been possessed? Clearly there had to be some signs there that the others had overlooked.

Laying all the known facts out on the line while the others listened, while Willow and Andrew hurriedly took notes, she could almost see the wheels turning in Giles' head as he too listened intently to her. Nobody other than Faith spoke and as she repeated as much as she could remember from the shared slayer dream she had with Buffy, she felt a wave of despair, of hopelessness wash over her.

"It comes down to this, guys," Faith said, shaking off that feeling that left a bad taste in her mouth and a heavy feeling in not just her gut, but her heart as well. "We gotta figure out when this demon came to Buffy in the first place. Whether it possessed her or took her and shape-shifted itself into looking like her, we gotta figure out when and where this happened."

"Do you think that'll make any difference?" Willow asked.

"Those unfortunate incidents where those young slayers died? The way Buffy acted before and after it happened? I kind of felt like something was off about her then," Kennedy said softly. "I know, Wil," she said upon Willow's surprised look. "I should've said something sooner, but everything that Faith just said? She's right. We need to figure out when this demon first showed up. We need to figure out just how long this has been happening."

"We also need to know why it chose Buffy," Andrew added. "And it can't be for the obvious reason that she's the Original Chosen One. Faith is one too and we had a discussion before about who would've carried the line and we all agreed that it was Faith and-"

"Save it, Andrew," Dawn snapped at him. "We're not discussing who carries the line, or who _did_ before Willow did that spell to activate all the young slayers around the world. We're discussing when this demon, this succubus first decided to show it's ugly face and made Buffy a victim."

"Do you remember that meeting we had?" Xander asked the others. "You know, the one about a week before those girls were killed during the patrol Buffy took them out on?" Silence filled the room while the others stared blankly at Xander. "Buffy was late for the meeting. She'd never been late before, unless it was a morning meeting, but how often do we have those?"

"Oh, _that_ meeting," Willow said and she frowned. "We all thought she was drunk. She sure smelled like it."

"Maybe she was?" Xander asked and he shrugged. "Either way, that's something our Buffster doesn't do is get drunk in the morning and then show up late for a quasi-important meeting. She started being careless after that, not caring about protocols, about schedules, all the things that she normally cared about."

The room fell into silence and Faith could see the others trying to think back to well over a month ago, trying to find all the signs that something was wrong with Buffy. Faith could see how hard it was on the others, especially Dawn who looked like she was on the brink of tears and a full on emotional breakdown over this entire situation.

Leaving the others to sit with their thoughts and discuss certain events that Faith nor Giles had been around for, Faith headed up the stairs and into the bathroom. Flicking on the lights, she looked at her reflection for the first time since she woke up in the bed at the clinic.

Dawn had been right, she was a mess, but all the bruises and cuts on her face were healing, just like the rest of her was. Her left eye, although still swollen, wasn't near as bad as it had been. With a heavy sigh, Faith turned on the tap and splashed a few handfuls of cold water over her face. All she wanted was her chance to have another one on one with the demon and kick its ass, deliver the payback for the ass kicking of her life she'd gotten the day before.

The tiredness seemed to hit her in waves as she stared at her reflection. She knew she needed to get some rest, to let her slayer healing do it's work so she could get back out there and figure out how to save Buffy from this demon that had taken over her life. Splashing water on her face once more, she reached for the small towel on the rack and gently covered her face. She could feel the hot tears as they slid out, soaked up by the cheap cotton towel before they could roll down her cheeks.

Faith could just faintly hear the others downstairs, still talking, still discussing Buffy and the little things they were now just noticing that had been completely out of character for her. Sooner or later, they'd pinpoint an exact time, the exact day that the demon had taken possession of Buffy. Faith knew they'd figure it out, they were the Scooby gang and with Giles there, there was no way they wouldn't be able to figure out how to end this entire thing and bring Buffy back home safely. With her help, of course, because that was what she was there for, to find Buffy and bring her home.

There was one thing she knew and that was once they figured out when this demon first came to Buffy, it'd make it easier to get the answers they all wanted, even Andrew who wanted to know why it chose Buffy when there were literally hundreds of slayers it could've chosen. Hell, even Faith wondered the same thing, why Buffy? Why not her or another slayer? Or was Buffy just an easier target, a _better_ one for whatever game the demon, both of them, were playing?

Although she was beginning to feel her body healing much quicker than it had been while she'd been in the clinic, the tiredness was too much to endure for much longer. Making her way to her room, she tried to shut out the rest of the world as she changed out of her clothes and into something more comfortable. The bruises around her ribs were dark, a mix of purple, green and a nasty shade of yellow. She winced as she ran her fingers over the darkest bruise and she knew just how lucky she was that she didn't end up any worse, like dead worse.

Faith pulled her loose t-shirt on as Giles knocked quietly on the partially open door. Faith groaned and motioned for him to come in and she moved to sit on the small bed, every movement just as painful as the last.

"I suppose you came up here to get some much needed rest, so I'll keep this fairly short," Giles said quietly. "I also brought you something to help you sleep."

"I'm fine, G."

"It's just a mild painkiller, Faith."

Rolling her eyes, she took the offered pill and small glass of water Giles had brought up with him. Knowing he wasn't going to leave without her taking it in front of him, she swallowed the pill with just a small mouthful of water and placed the glass on the bedside table.

"If you indeed shared a dream with Buffy, there's a high possibility that it could happen again. What you told us about the dream before, you do realize what it suggests, don't you?"

"That this demon is just wearing a copy of Buffy's body and that she's not really there, but somewhere else?"

"Precisely. If that is indeed the case, ridding her of the demon is not an option. We will be able to kill the demon without harming Buffy herself."

"It just means we gotta find her, right?"

Giles nodded. "There is also another possibility that this dream you believed you shared with Buffy, that she was there-"

"That it was just a figment of my imagination, just my hopes getting high and all that. Don't you think I took that into consideration here, G? Believe me, I know a slayer dream when I have one. Call me crazy, but during those dreams?" Faith paused and shook her head. "I can feel her. Can't explain it, I just do. Believe me when I say I know the difference between a slayer dream and one where I'm just dreaming _about_ her, either she's killing me, again, or we're fu-"

"I understand," Giles cut her off, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. "I do want to stress that I want for you to be careful, Faith."

"You're just worried about me cos the demon kicked my ass, aren't you?"

"I always am worried about you, for one reason or another."

Faith knew that over the years, Giles had become more than just a friend, a partner in the good fight. Giles had become a father figure and she knew that he saw her like a daughter, treated her like one at times when it was needed. She wasn't going to argue with him over the fact that he always worried about her. She knew what he meant by it. They'd been in a lot of tight spots in their time together and more than a handful of times she'd been close to being killed because of one little careless mistake.

Faith had become what Buffy used to be to Giles. Yet, their relationship was starkly different in a lot of ways. She could get away with a lot more things than she knew he'd let Buffy get away with if the roles were reversed. Buffy didn't need him around anymore, she'd decided that a long time ago, but when it came to Faith, she wanted him around just as much as she needed him.

"I do wonder one thing," Giles said and he frowned slightly at Faith's distressed look. "Yes, I realize that I mentioned I would keep this short, but the thought just dawned on me. If this demon is just a copy of Buffy, so to speak, why would she release you after she had captured you?"

"Out of the evil kindness of her shrivelled up demon heart?" Faith replied bitterly. "I have no idea, G. Probably did it so she could fuck with me, literally. Then there was the whole beating on me 'til I could barely move and leaving me there to die thing too. Let's not forget about that. Still got the evidence of that little painful, unplanned encounter."

Giles frowned again. "Demon's don't just-"

"You're wrong and you know it. This isn't just any demon, Giles. These things? They prey on humans, literally fuck them in their dreams. With how real it felt, made me wonder if I just thought I was dreaming and it happened for real. These demons? They aren't following the usual evil route. They've made up their own set of rules and are having the time of their evil lives messing with me. Willing to bet they've done the same thing to B too."

Faith could feel the mild painkillers slowly starting to kick in. As much as she hated drugs, she knew Giles was right. She needed to rest and sleeping with her injuries wouldn't come too easy without a little bit of help.

"Pretty much everything you've found on these demons have been some form of fiction," Faith continued. "We need facts, G."

"We are working on it tirelessly. It has been centuries-"

"Thought you were gonna keep this short?" Faith asked, smirking slightly as Giles stood by the bed, flabbergasted over her cutting him off mid sentence. Again. "We both knew coming in that this wasn't gonna be easy. If there's one thing you've taught me over the years, it's that just because something is hard, doesn't mean it is impossible."

Giles nodded and turned to leave the room. He stopped by the door and looked back at Faith, smiling softly at her. "Rest well, Faith. I assure you that we'll have something more, anything more, when you wake up."

"Counting on it, G."

* * *

Like the other night, the place that only existed in her dreams took fruition in what felt like a matter of minutes. The white room came into view, the bed still in the same place as before. She was alone this time. Buffy wasn't waiting for her.

Faith walked across the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. The sheets were still crisp and soft, the room quiet and still. Still on edge from her recent encounter and beating, she rubbed her neck and looked around the room for any sign that Buffy would come to her again. She knew she couldn't get her hopes up for another shared slayer dream with her so close to the other, but it wouldn't have been the first time-that she knew of anyway.

"Are you waiting for me?"

Faith turned at the sound of Buffy's voice, smiling as she saw her walk towards the bed after appearing out of nowhere.

"Not really. I dunno," Faith shrugged, even though she was hoping that she'd come to her again. "Just fell asleep and here I am."

Laughing, Buffy sat on the bed across from her. She still looked as she did the last time, still dressed in the same clothes and she still had that tired, scared look in her eyes. But when she smiled, that all seemed to fade away. Faith could see the Buffy she knew when she smiled, she could see that light she always carried inside of her, the light that made her good, that made her alive and strong, the light that made her love and for others to love her in ways that Faith would never know what it was like.

"I'm not really where you think I am."

"And where are you, B?"

"I don't know," Buffy said, her smile fading away. "Somewhere dark. Cold and damp. Water trickles down the walls just before sunrise. I only see a sliver of light first thing in the morning. At least I think it's morning. I've lost all sense of time, of place."

"Where do you think you are?"

"Not where you think I am."

"And where's that, B?"

Buffy fell silent, her eyes lowering to the space on the bed between them. From the shaky rise and fall of her shoulders, Faith knew she'd started to cry. She didn't know what to do, how to comfort Buffy, how to convey in words that this wasn't a hopeless situation even though she wasn't sure of that herself anymore.

Moving closer to her on the bed, she hesitated for a moment before she reached out for Buffy's hands and gently intertwined their fingers. Buffy gave her a soft squeeze before she lifted her head, her eyes locking on to Faith's as the tears continued to fall. Faith could feel what Buffy was thinking, what she was feeling and it was almost heart-breaking to not just feel, but see that Buffy was ready to give up, to stop fighting. Faith wasn't sure what compelled her to lean forward and place a soft kiss on her forehead. Buffy trembled as Faith's lips lingered, the tears still continuing to fall. Taking a deep breath, Faith placed another kiss on her cheek, tasting the saltiness of her tears as she pulled back and licked over her lips.

It was Buffy who kissed her, crushing her lips against Faith's as a hand slid behind her neck and pulled her closer. It was different than when the succubus had come to her and seduced her. She could feel the difference in just the way that Buffy's lips lingered on hers, not quite moving, frozen in place, the seconds lasting for what felt like hours.

Faith took a chance, kissing her back with a little more yearning, tongue dipping out, slipping in between Buffy's tightly pressed lips. She wasn't sure why she was kissing her or why Buffy was kissing her back. Was this a slayer dream or was this just her imagination, the mild painkiller helping to play on the fact that she wanted to see Buffy again.

As unexpected as it had began, Buffy pulled back with a soft groan, the tears still falling. She wiped them away, the feeling of hopelessness hanging heavy in the air between them again.

"It's not hopeless," Faith whispered.

"How do you know that is what I was thinking?"

"Cos I was thinking the same thing. It's _not_ hopeless, B. I'm gonna find you. No matter what it takes."

"You're not looking in the right place."

"Where should I be looking? B?"

Again, Buffy lowered her head, her body shaking with every earth shattering sob she tried to hold in. "I'm fading, Faith."

"No, you're not."

"I am. I'm weak. Scared. Alone. I'm fading away."

"You're not gonna fade away, B. I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Then save me," Buffy said lowly, her eyes rising to look at her again. Her eyes, rimmed with tears and red, looked so desperate, filled with hopelessness and despair. "Save me, Faith."

"Tell me where to find you. How can I save you if I don't know where you are, B?" Faith asked her and she felt her fading away, the feel of her hands turning feather-light until she was no longer there. "Buffy? How can I save you if I don't know where you are?" Faith screamed out into the emptiness of the room.

The room darkened and transformed into a much smaller room, the bed now covered with an old, dusty and faded quilt. The only window had been painted out, just a chip near the corner allowed a small stream of light through. In the dim light, the stone walls dripped of water that came from the ceiling and Faith stood up from the bed slowly, wondering if somehow Buffy was showing her just where she was an attempt to help Faith in finding her so she could save her.

Faith walked over to the only door in the room, heavy and wooden, the latch almost rusted to the point where it took some strength to open it. She found herself stepping out into a hallway in what looked like a very old house, maybe even a castle considering the walls were stone. A few young girls walked past her, speaking rapidly as they turned the corner and disappeared.

Faith, not knowing why, followed the direction the girls had gone and was nearly knocked over by Xander as he ran out of one of the rooms. He didn't even seem phased by the encounter, muttering under his breath about cleansing the castle, freeing it of anything evil before they could rest easy again.

Shrugging it off, she continued down the hallway and turned the corner where the girls had, but it was a dead end and only a window stood at the end, it too painted out black.

"Evil begone," an old woman said from behind her. She was frail, hunched over, her fingers bony and crooked as she pointed to a doorway that hadn't been there moments before. "Evil lurks in the shadows of this godforsaken place. No human should've set foot here before a proper cleansing."

"Huh?"

"Hush, child," the old woman said to her and motioned for Faith to follow her through the now open doorway. "You fight evil. You've seen it. You've won against it, but have you ever seen true evil, child?"

"Like the First Evil?"

"No," she croaked. "Though I suppose it's just as horrifying."

The way the woman spoke, it sent chills down her spine. Faith couldn't move, she didn't have the power over herself to. Whatever was happening, she was being forced to be right where she was against her will. It was just a dream and the place she was in, it felt like it didn't exist. Still, she watched with bewilderment as the old woman chanted as she walked around the room, her voice chilling as she began chanting faster, her voice still almost too quiet to hear.

Nightmares usually didn't scare her. She'd had them her entire life. Normally having one or several in a night had her waking up with her heart racing, her body covered in sweat and the images, although still fresh in her mind, haunted her like a ghost that just wouldn't go away.

A low growling came from beyond the small white door in the corner of the room. The old woman approached it slowly, cautiously, the words she'd been chanting fading until a bloodcurdling scream escaped past her lips. Faith could feel the terror the woman felt and she was suddenly thrust in place of the old woman as the door swung open and she was hit by a force she couldn't see.

Coughing, she tried to wake herself up, her lungs feeling like they were filling up with fluid, feeling heavier and constricted with every breath she tried to take.

With a startled gasp, she woke, but the heavy feeling in her lungs was still there. Grasping at her chest and throat, she tried to take in a breath, but it burned. Faith let out a silent scream and black ooze poured from her mouth, covering her body and most of the small room.

Groaning with disgust, she crawled out of bed, the warm air feeling cool against her clammy, damp skin. Staggering to the bathroom, her heart racing, she fumbled for the switch, but it wasn't there. It was the first sure sign that she was still dreaming and after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she looked down at herself, expecting to be covered in the black ooze that had poured from her mouth moments ago, was entirely gone.

"Fuck, this is weird," Faith muttered as she made her way back to the bedroom. "It's just a dream, Lehane. Sooner or later your gonna wake up and laugh about this whole mess."

Where had Buffy gone from earlier? Was it even Buffy there with her, or had it just been a figment of her imagination? The rest of the dream sure felt real enough as it was, but she wasn't so sure about before. She wondered if the rest of the dream had thrown her off, making the beginning feel like it never really happened in the first place. She was starting to wish that it really hadn't happened at all.

"Faith? Faith, are you all right?" Giles called out as he came into the dark bedroom. "I thought I heard you scream?"

"Did I?" Faith asked, remembering how she had tried and nothing but black ooze had come out instead. Faith flipped on the bedside lamp and looked over at Giles. "This is just a dream."

"It's just a what?" Giles asked, looking at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Are you sure you're all right, Faith?"

"It's just a dream!" She yelled at him and when he took a step towards her, she shook her head and stepped back. "Stay away from me."

"You're sick."

"No. I'm dreaming," Faith muttered. "Go away. Go. Away."

"You're sick, Faith. You should rest," Giles said calmly as he pointed to the bed. "A sick slayer needs her rest. A sick slayer is useless. We can't have a sick slayer holding us back now, can we?"

Faith stomach churned every time Giles said the word "sick". She clamped her hands over her ears as he continued, saying the same words over and over again until it was nothing more than a booming voice inside her head.

Her lungs felt like they were filling up again and she gagged as she struggled to breathe. The booming voice turned into malicious laughter and she opened her eyes she hadn't realized she'd shut tight and the room was spinning around her. Eyes wide, she felt the black ooze seep out from her mouth and wrap itself around her neck, choking her even more so.

Terrified, she grasped at the liquid, her fingers sliding through yet not easing the pressure it had around her neck. Reminding herself that it was just a dream-a nightmare-had become lost as sheer panic set in. The last thing she heard was that malicious laughter and the last thing she saw was it coming from the old woman she'd seen before, pointing a crooked, bony finger at her as everything faded away.

* * *

Faith groaned as she opened her eyes, blinded by the sunlight streaming in through the windows. With a gasp, she sat up in the bed, the memories of the nightmare flooding back to her in an instant. She didn't allow the panic to settle in, instead she quickly dressed in clean clothes and headed downstairs to find Giles.

The house was eerily quiet, but it was early and the others were still sleeping. Faith walked into the kitchen, the table covered with books and papers filled with notes that noted dates and times, certain events. She spotted a flow chart taped to the wall, Andrew's handiwork of course. From the looks of things, the others had been up most of the night, trying to pinpoint the exact moment the demon had possessed Buffy.

Only they were wrong. The demon hadn't possessed her, it had taken her somewhere, locked her up and projected itself to look exactly like her. Faith groaned as she walked over to the chart on the wall, reading over the timeline they'd written out. It went as far back as six months, some of the things mentioned were small incidents, others were bigger ones like the incident when the younger slayers had been killed while out on patrol with Buffy.

"Good morning, Faith."

Faith turned to look at Willow as she walked into the kitchen. "Morning."

"You look much better."

Faith nodded, smiling for a second and she motioned to the chart. "You guys have been busy."

"We're still nowhere near figuring it out. It almost seems hopeless."

"It's not hopeless," Faith said softly. "It's not. It can't be."

The words were echoed, not in Willow's voice or her own, but in Buffy's soft, broken voice. Faith too felt broken, hearing her voice echoing in her head. The dream before it turned into a nightmare came rushing back to her. Buffy's hopelessness, her pleading for Faith to find her and save her, the kiss they had shared that Faith didn't know what it meant, if it meant anything at all.

"Faith? Are you okay?" Willow asked, the concern clear in her voice. "Faith?"

"She needs me to find her and save her."

"Find her? But you did find her, Faith."

"It's not her," Faith replied and she could feel a tremor ripple through her body. "It's not Buffy, Willow."

Willow shook her head. "Do you honestly believe that this demon has made itself to look like Buffy? Nothing we've found has even mentioned the fact that it has the ability to do something like that."

"If it doesn't have the ability to do that, it could've gone to a witch, got a spell or something," Faith said and Willow sighed heavily as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on, Willow, you're a witch, a powerful one at that. Stuff like that is entirely possible, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Kate," Faith said simply. "The witch back in Scotland, she was the one who cast that spell to help _Buffy_ disappear. Whose to say she didn't cast another spell for the demon? Come on, Willow, you know I'm on to something here."

"Maybe," Willow replied quietly. "Maybe you are right. We have to explore every possibility, even if it seems incredibly impossible." Willow paused and she stared at Faith curiously for a moment. "How come you are so hung up on the fact that Buffy is somewhere else?"

"Because she told me she is."

"I guess I have a witch to pay a little visit to."

With a small smile showing she had a glimmer of hope that what Faith said was true, Willow, with a flick of her fingers, disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter Six_**

Willow had been gone for nearly six hours. Faith could see the worry on Dawn, Xander and Kennedy's faces gradually get worse as the hours dredged on. She had been the one who broke the news to them earlier, telling them where Willow had gone. Only Andrew seemed to be submerged in researching, the others just sat there waiting, the minutes ticking by dragging on and on.

Faith hadn't mentioned the dream, the nightmare to anyone, not even Giles. She wasn't sure if she was ready to tell them what she'd seen, what she'd heard, the things that had happened to her when things took a turn for the worst. There was a nagging pang in her gut that told her she was making a mistake not telling the others what happened in her dream, but she kept trying to ignore it, dull it any way she could.

"Why isn't she back yet?" Dawn asked, breaking the heavy silence. "She should've been back by now, right?"

"Dawn, she went to find Kate. Who knows if Kate fled from where she'd been hiding. I wouldn't blame her after our last little encounter with her," Kennedy replied calmly. "Willow can handle herself."

"So, you're not worried about her? How can you not be worried about her?"

"I am worried about her, but I also know that if things take a turn for the worse, she can get herself out of there before she gets hurt."

"We know nothing about this Kate, other than she is a pretty powerful witch and has a little sister who just _coincidentally_ showed up to lead you two to her," Dawn replied and she shook her head. "No, there's a lot more to this than what it looks like. I know I'm not the only one thinking it."

Faith had thought it too when Jessie had first showed up just as they were about to give up on finding out who the girl in the security tape with Buffy was. And thinking back, Jessie had been hot and cold, at first reluctant to bring them to her sister, saying she didn't know where she was and then telling her and Kennedy to follow her, taking them right to Kate herself.

If they could get any answers out of Kate, they'd be another step closer to figuring this whole situation out. Another step closer to figuring out what this demon had done to Buffy. Another step closer to bringing Buffy back home.

Grabbing her cold beer off the counter, Faith took a sip and then another before placing it back down. She wasn't the only one drinking. Xander had a beer open and in his hand, Giles had a small glass of Scotch and Dawn, after explaining that she was of age to drink to the others, had a glass of red wine, barely touched sitting in front of her on the kitchen table. Andrew was the only one who opted out, as did Kennedy, both of them instead stuffing their faces with pizza they'd gone out earlier and got from a store just around the corner from the house.

"The sister, what is her name?" Giles asked and the others looked at Faith.

"Jessie."

"Ah," Giles nodded and he grabbed Willow's laptop and opened it. After a few minutes, he was typing away, searching up the sisters in the directory that Willow had on all known practicing witches in the world. "The Marshall sisters. Katherine and Jessica Marshall, both practicing witches from a young age, descended from a long line of power that has run in their family for centuries. How did Willow miss this?"

"We have been focusing on other things, Giles," Xander reminded him. "None of us thought that Kate was anything more than just another witch who cast a spell for Buffy and then hid herself away."

"I vote to research more about the sisters," Andrew spoke up. "You know, as soon as this pain goes away," he moaned as he held his stomach. "So. Much. Pizza."

"You're the inane fool who ate more pizza than one could stand," Giles muttered and he turned the laptop towards Andrew. "Do suffer in silence. For the sake of the rest of us."

"Okay, Mr. Giles."

Faith chuckled lightly as she watched Andrew try in vain to suffer silently and failing miserably. Knowing that Giles was going to lose his cool, Faith headed out onto the back patio. The warm afternoon breeze was blowing just enough to make the otherwise hot day bearable. She sat down at the cast iron table and closed her eyes as she leaned back in the chair.

She wasn't out there alone for long and almost as if she expected it, Kennedy came out just a few minutes later, sitting in the chair opposite of her, the clang of her cold can of Coke being placed on the table making Faith open her eyes with an annoyed grunt. She'd escaped the impending chaos inside and she knew from the look on Kennedy's face as the arguing started in the kitchen, that she too had escaped just in time.

"For the record, I voted for Andrew not to come with us," Kennedy said, chuckling as Andrew squealed inside. "Now that is likely Dawn hitting him."

"You guys sure are an interesting bunch."

"When you live together for a couple of years, even in a castle, someone is always around. It's kind of impossible not to know everything about the people you live with, even how to annoy them, especially Andrew."

"He makes it easy. So, if he annoys you guys so much, why is he still around? Why haven't you told him to get gone?"

"He's kind of a Watcher to the younger girls and he's our tech guy," Kennedy replied. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be where we are now. He's more than proved his worth. We just deal with the annoying parts by letting Dawn slap him around a little every now and then."

Faith let out a soft laugh before pulling out her cigarettes and lighting one. She ignored the disgusted groan that Kennedy made and she took a long drag and listened to the chaos going on inside.

"Why'd you take off like that the other day?"

"Being told I'm not wanted, kinda grates on my nerves in a bad way. It was either get outta here or completely lose my cool."

"Dawn was just being Dawn. She's just worried about Buffy."

"Dawn already apologized. Don't need you attempting to do it for her on her behalf, Kennedy."

Kennedy sighed loudly and sipped her Coke. The chaos inside started to quiet down and Faith leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes again. A part of her knew that Kennedy was trying to keep things neutral between all of them when it came to her, but she didn't need to. Faith could handle the Scooby gang herself, accusations and whatever else they would decide to throw her way for one reason or another.

Things had changed over the years. She might not be one of them, but she knew they knew she wasn't one of the bad guys, that she was on their side and on her own at the same time, her own side being good with a sliver of darkness during those times she had to kill those rogue, out of control slayers. She didn't know if they knew what she'd done, what Giles wanted her to do to those girls, but it didn't matter. What was done was done and in the past. Every now and then, the faces of those girls would haunt her in her dreams, but ever since she'd arrived in Rome, the only one haunting her in her dreams and her nightmares was Buffy and the demon wearing her body.

"You know, it's funny," Kennedy said and Faith opened her eyes again to look at her. "You never once asked any of us anything more about Satsu."

"Don't give a shit about her."

"Or her intentions when it comes to Buffy?"

"Girl is in love with her," Faith replied flatly. "Surprise, surprise, someone else has fallen in love with Buffy Summers who she doesn't love back."

"For the record," Kennedy said quietly as she stared intensely at Faith. "I always thought it'd be you."

"What would be me?"

"I always thought you'd be the first girl to admit that you're in love with Buffy, not some newbie slayer who follows her around like a lost puppy."

"You got your wires crossed, Kennedy. I am not in love with Buffy."

"But you care about her."

"Sure, I care about her. What are ya trying to get at here?"

"I thought that's why you agreed to help."

"Let me get this straight," Faith said, amused as she shifted in her chair and stared Kennedy down. "You thought I willingly came to help you guys track Buffy down and bring her home cos I'm in love with her? No. I came cos it's the right thing to do and cos knowing Buffy, I'm the last person she'd expect to come looking for her."

"No, that's where you're wrong, Faith. You're the first person Buffy would expect to come looking for her."

"Don't know where you're getting your information from but-"

"Guys?" Dawn said as she opened the back door. "Willow is back. She has Kate. You might want to come inside."

"We're going to talk about this, Faith."

"No. This conversation is done," Faith said as she glared at Kennedy. She stood up first, heading inside to the kitchen and through to the small living room. There Kate sat on a wooden chair, magically bound with Willow standing close by. "Look what the good witch dragged in," Faith chuckled as she stared down at Kate. "You know I won't hesitate to hurt you if you're not willing to cooperate, right?"

"Faith," Giles said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's no need. She's already agreed to fully cooperate with us. Dawn, if you'll get our guest a refreshment, we'll get started."

"What made you change your tune, Kate?" Faith drawled as she sat on the arm of the worn leather couch.

"Willow and I had a very long discussion," Kate replied quietly, her voice raspy and weak. "This is bigger than me being afraid for my life. The things I know, you all deserve to know as well so you can save Buffy. If this was my sister, I'd be doing anything I could to find her and save her."

"Can I ask you something first?" Faith asked and Kate nodded slowly. "How'd Jessie find us? It wasn't just a coincidence, was it?"

"No, it wasn't. She has telepathic abilities, but only sometimes. She must have known you were looking for me-or someone who looked like me. She's not completely in control of that power. She's still too young to learn how to control it."

"Willow could help her," Kennedy said quickly. "I mean, after all of this is done, Wil could help Jessie learn to control it."

"We don't associate with anyone outside our family."

"But Wil is a-"

"Kenny, don't bother," Willow whispered at her, frowning as Kate tried to shift in the chair, the magic that bound her making it impossible.

"Is this really necessary?" Kate asked, looking right at Willow. "I told you people that I am willing to cooperate!"

"That doesn't mean we can trust you," Xander said as he stepped forward and stared down at Kate.

"Kate, can you tell them what you told me earlier?" Willow asked her calmly, motioning at Xander to sit down. "Kate seems to have had an encounter with not just the succubus, but the incubus as well. _Months_ ago."

Faith was intrigued. She didn't know if she could trust the witch, but they didn't have anything else to go by. They were basically at their wits end and any information they could get would be more than what they've managed to figure out on their own.

"It started in early March. I'd always had strange nightmares ever since I was a child, something my mother told me plagued the women in our family for centuries. I thought it was just another nightmare, until it started happening nearly every night. A demon would come to me, sometimes appearing as human, other times appearing in its true form. It wasn't clear for a while what this demon wanted and it tortured me in my dreams night after night, until it told me what it wanted from me."

"This demon, what was it?" Giles asked her.

"An incubus," Kate replied and Faith noticed that not only Giles, but Dawn and Andrew were taking notes. "It wanted me to do a spell. Several actually, but when I was awake, things became muddled. Every day felt strange, I started to drift further and further apart from my friends, my family, and the coven I'd been staying with at the time. Every time I told someone about the dreams, about the demon, they told me I was just dreaming, that none of it was real and I believed them until I woke up one morning with physical evidence of what the demon had done to me in my dreams.

"After a few weeks, it's female counterpart started to appear to me. She was much more persuasive, didn't harm me the way the other did. She threatened to come after Jessie, telling me that if I didn't do what they wanted me to do, they'd kill my sister, my family, the women in the coven. I felt like I didn't have a choice. I was scared and so alone. I reached out for help and nobody was willing, nobody believed a word I said to them, telling me I was slowly allowing the dreams I was having to make me go crazy."

"What kind of spells did these demons want you to do?" Willow asked her when she fell silent for a few moments.

"They wanted out of the realm of dreams, something that had not been done in well over two thousand years," Kate replied and she took a shuddering breath, the silence in the room almost chilling. "It took me a little while, but I found the spells they wanted me to do. Every time I did each of the three spells that would release them from that realm, I-I started to forget things. There are still some things I can't remember and some that I can remember so vividly as if it just happened yesterday."

Faith wasn't sure what it was, but from the look in Kate's eyes, the fear she was showing, the guilt and regret, it made her believe everything that she was telling them.

"The succubus wanted a slayer," Kate continued. "At that time, I had no idea what a slayer was. One of the women in the coven told me about them, about all of you, about what happened in Sunnydale that made it possible for thousands of you to exist at one time. I had no choice. These demons, they were in control of me. I realized this when I tried to shut them out. I cast a spell to banish myself from dreaming and-and-"

Kate broke down, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Faith watched as Willow released the bound just a little and Kate raised her hands to her face to quickly wipe away her tears.

"They found my family," she whispered, her voice cracking as the tears continued to fall. "They killed them while they slept, mutilated their bodies and slashed their throats. The only one they didn't touch was Jessie and I still, to this day, do not know why."

"Where is Jessie now?" Willow asked. "Is she safe?"

"I didn't just cast that spell to protect us from being detected by you or any others," Kate said. "I did that spell to protect _us_ from those demons."

"Is she safe?"

"Yes. For now," Kate said, frowning as she looked around at the others in the room. With a deep breath, she continued. "The incubus didn't care what man was chosen for him, all he wanted was a body and he chose the first man that was willing."

"Willing? You mean this man willingly let this demon inhibit his body?" Willow asked and she looked concerned. Even Faith knew this wasn't going to end well and the things that Kate would tell them wouldn't be what they wanted to hear.

"Yes, but it's not that simple. It's not quite a possession as it is borrowing a piece of one's soul to create life."

"And Buffy? Did the demon chose her?"

"It was by chance that the demon found her," Kate said. "Buffy was in town and I just happened to be out at the shop, picking up a few things. See, at the time, the demon came with me, but it wasn't _inside_ me, it was just _with_ me. It told me it chose her and wanted her by all means necessary. I didn't know what it meant by that, I didn't even know who she was or that she was a slayer, _the_ slayer."

The others looked over at Faith for a moment, realizing that she had been right about Buffy, right about the fact that the Buffy that she'd found wasn't _Buffy_, but the demon itself. This was one instance that she wasn't happy that she was right. She wasn't even sure what this all meant yet. Could they still save Buffy? Faith still had to find her.

"Buffy wasn't willing like Lucian was," Kate continued and she motioned to Dawn to hand her the glass of water she'd fetched for her earlier. After nearly downing the entire glass, she sighed softly. "Buffy fought the demon relentlessly. And she lost. Lucian cornered her and she quickly found out that he was stronger than her. He brought her to my flat, unconscious and badly injured from their fight. I didn't want to do the spell, doing it for Lucian had nearly drained me of my power for days. But then Jessie came home and Lucian threatened to kill her-he almost did until I did the spell. It wasn't as easy as it was doing it for the incubus. This was a slayer and trying to "borrow" a slayer's soul is next to impossible."

"I suspect that would be because of the slayer itself," Giles noted. "But it worked, didn't it?"

"Yes."

"And Buffy? What did you do with her afterwards?"

"I didn't do anything with her. They took her with them, I'm not sure where, but it was the last I saw of them until just over a month ago when Buffy came to me, asking me for one last spell, threatening to kill me if I didn't, threatened to kill me if I told any of you any of this or where she was planning to go."

"But it wasn't Buffy, was it? It was the demon," Giles said and Kate nodded her head slowly. "When did you realize that it was the demon?"

"It made me sick. A cloaking spell had never made me sick before. I threw up black slime for days afterwards. I thought I was dying."

Black slime. Faith tried to hide the shock and luckily for her, nobody was paying any attention to her. All eyes were on Kate. The black slime couldn't be a coincidence. Faith had that in her dream and it had tried to choke the life out of her. Was it somehow connected to the demons? Or even Kate herself and the spells she'd cast?

Now Faith knew she had to share the details of the dream, but she wanted to hear more of what Kate had to say and she wasn't willing to tell Giles and the others the details with Kate there.

"I don't think that was just a cloaking spell," Willow said softly. "Black slime? Ooze like? What was the texture? Almost like smoke?" Kate nodded. "That's not because of the cloaking spell. I've read of this before, of demons who essentially take control of you. It's a side effect of being touched by the demon. It's your soul's way of trying to expel the darkness it left behind inside of you."

"What do you mean?" Faith asked before Kate could continue. "Touched by the demon? What does that mean?"

"When it's come to you in your dreams, usually more than once and hey, Faith, you had the succubus come to you," Willow said quickly, a look of realization dawning on her face. "You haven't had anything like that happen to you, have you?"

"I-"

"Is this stuff dangerous?" Dawn asked. "I mean anything coming out black from your body is definitely not natural by any means."

"Faith?" Willow asked gently and she walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Faith didn't push her hand away. She was too scared and too intrigued to do that. "You did, didn't you?"

"I-I wasn't awake when it happened."

Giles, seeing the look on Faith's face, stepped forward and said quietly to Willow that they would discuss it later. He turned to Kate, removed his glasses and promptly began making meticulous work at cleaning each lens with Kate watching him nervously.

"Tell me more about the spell you performed for the demons, the one that brought them through the fold into this dimension," Giles said and he stared long and hard at Kate before he slipped his glasses back on. "Was it an incantation, a spell using specific ingredients or both?"

"An incantation. I-I never heard the language before. I believe it was something from another world, another place and time. They told me what to say and all I had to do was repeat it."

"And do you, perhaps, remember the incantation?"

"Bits of it. Everything is kind of muddy, some memories of the last six months just come and go."

"Willow?"

"I can try something," she said as she turned to Kate. "A small memory retrieving spell. It won't hurt you or anything."

"I've already tried it."

"You cannot do it on yourself," Willow said and she frowned slightly as Kate rolled her eyes. "You may be powerful and descend from a long line of very powerful witches who have gone out of their way to keep themselves from popping up in the history pages, but that does not mean you fully understand the magic that you use. I can help you help us, but you have to let me do this spell."

"Faith, if you will? I'd like to have a word with you alone," Giles said, motioning for Faith to follow him upstairs.

Sighing heavily, Faith got up and followed Giles up to the room she was using as her own. She knew exactly why Giles wanted to talk to her alone. He wanted to know when she had the encounter with the black ooze and he would want every last little detail. There was no holding back anymore and she already felt guilty for not having told him about the dream already.

"Look, G, I know I should've-"

"I understand why you didn't say anything," he cut her off and motioned for her to sit down on the unmade bed. "There are things happening that we do not have the answers to, that we do not understand. When did this happen?"

Faith took a few deep breaths and told Giles all that she remembered of the dream, leaving out the tiny little detail that she'd kissed Buffy, an attempt to calm her and comfort her. It wasn't that she was hiding it from him, she still was trying to figure out why, even in her dream, even knowing that it was Buffy there with her, that she'd do something like that.

And while she told Giles the last part of the dream, she could feel the tightness in her chest returning as the vivid memories of it all came back.

* * *

It was as cold as it always was, damp, dark. Buffy felt the chains around her wrist digging more and more into her skin every time she moved. Shivering, she tried to get comfortable on the old twin sized bed, the quilt on it old, scratchy and the musty smell irritating her senses. With no sense of time when the light was gone from where the window had been boarded up, she wasn't sure how long off sunrise was.

Another long, lonely night, trapped in that room, bound in chains that came out from the stone wall, giving her just enough slack to move from the bed and to the small bathroom ten feet away, but no further. The chains itself were magically bound, unbreakable to even a slayer. But she knew there was something wrong with her. Something had happened to her when the demons had taken her and locked her up in that room in _her_ castle.

Why hadn't her friends come to rescue her? She heard them outside the door so many times, day in and day out. She heard them talking about her, about how she'd disappeared and every time she screamed out for them, it was as if they had never heard her at all. She even heard Giles and Faith. She wasn't sure now how long it'd been, but none of them were there anymore. She hadn't heard any of them, not even Dawn, in what felt like weeks, but for all she knew it could've only been a few days.

She had gone to Faith twice, but she kept hoping for more, her sleeping pattern off depending on the level of pain she'd felt throughout the day. She had tried to tell Faith where she was, but those slayer dreams were always tricky and being as detached as she was from herself, she couldn't just come out and say it. It had frustrated her to no end, but at least she knew and she felt that Faith believed her, that Faith was going to do whatever she could to find her. The only problem was, she wasn't sure what had happened after the last time. All she knew was she had tried to tell her where she was, that she'd been in the castle the whole time, right under their noses.

Buffy feared the worst. She feared she led Faith into the nightmare that had become a regular one for her, projected by the demons and the spell that kept her in that room, undetected by all of those surrounding her, undetected even by Willow.

Her hope was fading. She was fading away. Every day that passed felt longer, every thought now centered on wanting out. Every memory she thought of, tried to hold on to, was the only thing keeping her from finding ways to end this herself-by ending her life.

"Cowards way out. Can't do that. I'm not a coward."

Laughing, she dropped the chains and laid back on the bed. Her eyes had grown adjusted to the never-ending darkness of the room. Her mouth was dry and she was hungry. She was _always_ hungry. She did get food and water, at least once a day. She didn't know who brought it or how it got to her without the door being opened, but she never once questioned it, always grateful that at least the demons that were keeping her captive were keeping her fed, even if just barely.

Buffy heard footsteps outside the room, soft and quick. She strained to listen, to see if she could hear who was outside and completely oblivious to the fact that she was trapped inside the room. But the footsteps continued, fading away the further they got from the room.

Groaning, Buffy gripped on to the chains again. How could nobody know she was in there? She knew the room had to be magically sealed, but she wondered, if that was the case, wouldn't have Willow or any of her young apprentices have picked up on it by now?

These were the questions that ran through her mind continuously and she would come up empty, void of answers every single time. It was that, trying to ignore the hunger pangs, remembering all those little, happy memories that made up her life and even the bad ones, that made her hold on. But she was still fading, wasting away.

Buffy tried to remember every detail of the last dream she'd shared with Faith, not knowing if she brought Faith to her or if it had been the other way around. Slayer dreams were tricky and she'd tried almost every night to reach out to her, but either Faith wasn't sleeping, or their connection she knew existed between them, was fading just like she was.

"I kissed her," Buffy muttered, her voice cracking in surprise as she could almost feel the feel of Faith's lips on hers again. "Why did I kiss her?"

Raising a hand to her face, she trailed her fingertips over her lips. It didn't make any sense. Why did she kiss Faith? She'd been upset, she remembered that much, she remembered crying, the hopeless feeling she felt day in and day out had followed her into the dream. Did Faith kiss her back in an attempt to comfort her? If that was the case, it did work for those few moments they'd shared, locked in a soft, tender kiss she never imagined Faith was capable of. And it was Faith that had made the move first. She remembered how she kissed her forehead, then her cheek, and she hadn't done a thing to stop her. Or herself from kissing Faith with all that she had in her.

Torn from her thoughts by a whooshing sound near her, she blinked as she could see a shadowy figure form by the foot of the bed. After a few seconds, she could smell the warm chicken noodle soup, the fresh toast and even the apple that was on the tray before she even saw it.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked quietly as she watched the figure move over to the small table that was just within reach while she was bound in the chains. She heard the tray clatter on the table, the figure obviously startled by her. "Who are you?" Buffy asked again and she moved quietly and quickly to get up from the bed and she grabbed the arm of the shorter figure. "Satsu?"

In the darkness, Buffy could see the shock on Satsu's face as she wretched her way out of Buffy's weak grip. Satsu said nothing as she backed away from Buffy and before she could say another word, Satsu disappeared into the darkness of the room.


End file.
